PARENT'S RIGHTS NOW!

Click 42 USC Sec. 653a to review the text of the applicable Federal Statute as relates to the New Hire Directory. Then read the comments posted to the article Your stimulus dollars at work, and the articles Day Laborers Are Easy Prey in New Orleans, Laborers' Class-Action Lawsuit Targets Charleston, S.C., Staffing Agency, and L&L client list a who's who of area businesses.

We understand that the information about the number of undocumented construction workers in these articles has not been scientifically verified, but is only anecdotal. However, the fact that undocumented laborers were actually able to maintain a class-action in Charleston suggests that at least some builders are hiring workers off the books. Presumably, these builders are not filing the New Hire Reporting Forms with the appropriate State Agency either. If this is in fact the case, it would help explain why South Carolina is having such difficulty both collecting child support and locating "Deadbeat Dads." It would also help explain why there has been such a high rate of reported unemployment in the State even during periods of construction booms. This leads one to wonder whether anyone is actually monitoring compliance with the Law and whether the State may be facing either losses of incentives or additional fines from the Federal Government for this lack of oversight.