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Immigration Woes Strike American Apparel Workforce

American Apparel is being forced to lay off some 1,500 workers.   Ture, the apparel industry is experience an economic downturn, but that is, ostensibly, not the reason for the massive layoffs that amounts to more than ten percent of its workers.  According to the Los Angeles Times, federal inspectors two months earlier had discovered 1,600 workers with discrepancies with their identification.

Layoffs are always unfortunate.    Perhaps this round of involuntary layoffs came at a better time, what with the economy creating a drop off in production at American Apparel and other clothing manufacturers.  Still, this must be a painful situation for the company that has a family-like environment.   And it could be more costly if the layoffs were forced in the middle of a business season.

As an employer, it is increasingly necessary to protect yourself by conducting due diligence on job applicants.   As federal and local govenrments clamp down on undocumented workers, it is incumbent upon the employer to run the Social Security Trace as part of its background checks.   For those companies doing business as federal contractors or even with city governments, it is mandated that you conduct the I-9 documentation through E-Verify.   There are designated agents that can facilitate the I-9 or E-Verify search, electronically.   Conducting I-9’s through an E-Verify designated agent can eliminate nuisance paperwork and free up your HR staff for other projects.

Check them out before you hire.

By Gordon Basichis

Gordon Basichis is the Co-Founder of Corra Group, specializing in pre-employment background checks and corporate research. He has been a marketing and media executive and has worked in the entertainment industry, the financial, health care and technology sectors. He is the author of the best selling Beautiful Bad Girl, The Vicki Morgan Story, a non-fiction novel that helped define exotic sexuality in the late twentieth century. He is the author of the Constant Travellers and has recently completed a new book, The Guys Who Spied for China, dealing with Chinese Espionage in the United States. He has been a journalist for several newspapers and is a screenwriter and producer.

One reply on “Immigration Woes Strike American Apparel Workforce”

[…] There are other restaurants and restaurant chains that have been turned into examples as to why it is best not to hire undocumented workers.   American Apparel, the clothing manufacturer, was recently forced to layoff some 1,500 workers because of alleged discrepancies in their documentation.  I blogged about this in one article, entitled, Immigration Woes Strike American Apparel Workforce. […]