New Year, New Laws, New Hope

With renewed hope in this new year, several state laws written to protect American jobs, took effect on January 1, 2012.  It isn't nearly enough, but it is a step in the right direction.  Congress must pass a mandatory E-Verify bill so that any available jobs go only to American citizens and legal workers.

Alabama. The state now requires all employers doing business with any government entity in the state to use E-Verify.

Georgia. All companies with 500 or more employees are required to use E-Verify. In January 2013 all companies with more than 10 employees will be required to use E-Verify.

South Carolina. Any company that doesn’t use E-Verify to verify the work eligibility of new employees can lose their business license.

Tennessee. will also require businesses to ensure employees are legally authorized to work in the U.S. but exempts employers with five or fewer workers and allows them to keep a copy of the new hire's driver's license instead of using E-Verify.

Keep in mind that district judges have blocked a number of other provisions of anti-illegal alien state laws. Many of those provisions' legality will likely be decided when the U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling this year on the Arizona law.

The only state pro-illegal alien bill that takes effect on January 1st is the California law that allows illegal alien college students to receive grant money. There is already an initiative being circulated to overturn the law.