News Suit: Ind. pork processor hired hundreds of undocumented workers

[brassmonkey]

Hundreds of undocumented workers were hired at a northern Indiana pork processing plant over the past four years, according to a federal lawsuit filed against two employees of the Indiana Packers Corp.

The lawsuit claims the company's human resources staff hires applicants for low-paying production jobs without checking their previous employment record and despite evidence they're using fake Social Security numbers and identification cards. The suit claims the practice is rampant and ongoing and holds down wages for all workers.

"Many workers openly admit they are illegal, or were working under false identities, and/or had previously worked at IPC under a different name," according to the complaint.

The complaint was filed Tuesday by a former Indiana Packers employee against Marisol Martinez, an employee in the company's human resources department, and James Harding, director of human resources. It seeks class-action status in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.

Indiana Packers could not immediately be reached for comment. A call to a number associated with Harding was not returned Tuesday, and efforts to reach Martinez were unsuccessful.

Based in Delphi, about 20 miles northeast of Lafayette, Indiana Packers is the largest employer in rural Carroll County, which has a population of about 20,000, according to the latest Census estimate. It's jointly owned by Japan-based companies Mitsubishi Corp. and Itoham Foods Inc.

The lawsuit says Martinez, who reports to Harding, conducts employee orientations and fills out the employer portion of applicants' I-9 forms, which are required by federal law to ensure employees are authorized to work in the United States. In many cases, according to the complaint, the defendants knew applicants were using fake documents to pass a check on E-verify, an online system that allows employers to determine applicants' eligibility to work in the country.

"Youâ??re required to use it in good faith," Chicago lawyer Howard Foster said of E-verify. "If you believe that the documents relate to somebody else, youâ??re supposed to ask questions about the person, which they donâ??t do. They donâ??t ask any questions."

Foster, of Howard PC, said the alleged scheme resulted in depression of wages of all hourly production employees and is a violation of statutes that qualify under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO.

RICO, which usually deals with organized crime, was expanded by Congress in the 1990s to also include violations of federal immigration law. Acts that violate the Immigration and Nationality Act are considered racketeering activities under the RICO statute.

Foster's client, Andrew O'Shea, accepted a job as a production worker at Indiana Packers in 2013, making about $10.50 an hour. While working there, O'Shea overheard a supervisor say that if he needed more workers, Martinez "will get me some more illegals," the complaint says.

Foster said his client, who no longer works at Indiana Packers, will not be interviewed. He also said he does not know whether the company's high-level executives are aware of the alleged practice of hiring undocumented workers.

Oâ??Shea was fired at Indiana Packers in 2014 for insubordination, Foster said. He was hired back but later quit.

Suit: Ind. pork processor hired hundreds of undocumented workers

[Paul Markham]

Good. It's easy to keep illegals out of the US. Just hit employers and renters so hard. Migrant can't see the benefit of coming.

[#23]

good for them

[Juicy D. Links]

Extraordinary copy and paste, brassDindu. My compliments.