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Biz group criticizes bill

Long Island Assn. says Levy worker bill's penalties too stiff, doesn't do enough to protect businesses

BY JAMES T. MADORE | Newsday Staff Writer

August 22, 2006

The Long Island Association, the region's largest business group, has come out against Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy's controversial immigrant workers bill.

Citing a lack of protections for businesses that act in "good faith" and overly harsh penalties, Long Island Association president Matthew T. Crosson yesterday urged Levy to amend his resolution, which was introduced into the county legislature recently. A hearing on the bill is set for 5:30 p.m. today in Hauppauge.

In an Aug. 18 letter to Levy, Crosson said: "It is our position that if the county is going to enforce Simpson-Mazzoli, then all of the protections carefully built into that law by Congress should be applied at the county level."

Levy's bill seeks to toughen enforcement of the 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli Act, which requires employers to verify that workers came here legally. Federal officials aren't monitoring the law, he said. A spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not return a call seeking comment.

Levy's measure, which appears to have the backing of 14 of the 18 legislators, would require businesses and others with Suffolk contracts to file a sworn affidavit each year stating their workforce doesn't include undocumented workers. Penalties for a false affidavit include fines of up to $2,000 or 6 months in jail.

Such measures are far stricter than the federal law, Crosson said yesterday. He also was troubled that no accommodation was made for the "good-faith" efforts of employers to determine that their workers are legal.

However, Crosson stressed the LIA is not opposed to worker verification or Suffolk's enforcement attempts.

Levy responded by saying the Long Island Association "should be more proactive in protecting its legitimate businesses that are being hurt by the cheaters" who use undocumented workers. He said his bill's penalties are no different from those in federal law.

"But we will be open-minded to implement some of their more reasonable suggestions," Levy added, echoing a statement he made after Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union criticized the bill's anti-discrimination clause.

SEIU, immigrant advocates and the Long Island Council of Churches have predicted Levy's bill will spur racial discrimination. Unions representing construction workers, however, have argued that their jobs and wages are being undermined by undocumented workers.