CA AG Requires Employers to Avoid Cooperating With Federal Law Enforcement

January 2018 – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) said Thursday that businesses will face legal repercussions, including fines of upto $10,000 if they assist federal immigration authorities in their pursuit of immigration lawbreakers.

Employers who provide federal authorities information or access to their employees will be prosecuted by the state.  The state will prosecute if employers violate state law, provisions of which include: a) prohibiting employers voluntarily sharing employee information without a subpoena, b) notifying their employees before a federal audit of employee records, and c) reserves the authority to enforce labor law provisions to the Attorney General and Labor Commissioner.

Becerra’s admonishment comes following the announcement of Department of Homeland Security officials that California will see an increase in the number of investigators assigned to the state. And following the state’s recent establishment as a “sanctuary” state.

The adoption of “sanctuary” status at the state level, restricts local law enforcement agencies’ ability to cooperate with immigration authorities.  As a result, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) acting director Thomas Homan stated earlier this month that “California better hold on tight… If the politicians in California don’t want to protect their communities, then ICE will.” ICE’S mission is to protect America from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threatens national security and public safety.

Becerra said the state Department of Justice and the state Labor Commissioner’s Office plan to issue formal guidance to all California employers, public and private, notifying them of their responsibilities under a new state law called the “Immigrant Worker Protection Act“, signed by Governor Brown in 2017. The measure seeks to prevent all workers, regardless of immigration status, from being detained at workplaces.