PremierSource's strategic alliance partner McAfee & Taft
has published an important Employment Law Alert regarding Oklahoma's Immigration Law and how it affects Oklahoma employers.
Oklahoma’s immigration law, House Bill 1804, contains a number of
employment provisions, including limitations on discharging employees
while knowingly retaining unauthorized workers and requiring
verification of employees’ legal work status. On February 11, Tulsa
District Court Judge Jefferson D. Sellers ruled that the immigration
law’s employment provisions don’t violate the Oklahoma Constitution.
Oklahoma employers should keep in mind that in June 2008, an
Oklahoma City federal court held that the Oklahoma immigration law’s
employment provisions shouldn’t be enforced because they violated
federal law (see Employment Law Alert
from June 5, 2008, "Federal Judge Blocks Enforcement of
Employer-related Sections of Controversial Immigration Law"). That
ruling is presently on appeal to the federal court of appeals in Denver.
The bottom line is that the employment provisions of HB 1804 are
still not applicable to Oklahoma employers unless the federal court of
appeals overturns the Oklahoma City federal court's decision.
As an aside, Judge Sellers’ February 11 order included the following
observation: “The population of Oklahoma on the eve of statehood was
certainly a unique gathering of souls. Some came here under forced
march; others came more willingly, as did those who immigrated in the
land runs.”
That’s something we may want to keep in mind. We will continue to
keep you advised of immigration law developments. If you have further
questions, please do not hesitate to contact any of McAfee & Taft's labor and employment attorneys.
* * *
This Alert has been provided for information of
clients and friends of McAfee & Taft and PremierSource. It
does not provide legal advice, and it is not intended to create a
lawyer-client relationship. Readers should not act upon the information
in this Alert without seeking professional counsel.
Posted on
Thursday, February 12, 2009
by Brad Neese