Training to be offered on illegal immigration law

The S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation has scheduled training sessions at technical colleges in the Pee Dee in January to help employers understand and know how to comply with the new state immigration law.

One session will be Jan. 5 at Florence-Darlington Technical College’s Fred C. Fore 400 Building, 2715 W. Lucas St., Florence. The other will be at Jan. 12 at Northeastern Technical College’s Hampton Hall in Building 200, 1201 Chesterfield Highway, Cheraw.

Sessions also will be offered Jan. 6 at Horry-Georgetown Technical College’s Conference & Business Center, Building 600. 950 Meyers Ave., Myrtle Beach; and Jan. 9 at Central Technical College’s Industrial Technology Building 400, Room 401, 506 N. Guignard Drive, Sumter.

Seating will be limited at each technical school, so the department is asking employers to consider sending only one representative.

In addition to complying with I-9 requirements, all employers are required to verify the legal status of employees according to the new South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act. One way is through the Department of Homeland Security’s online database called E-verify; another is to determine that the employee has a South Carolina driver’s license or other government-issued identity document. The statute also sets penalties, including fines and loss of business licenses, for failing to get verification and for knowingly hiring an illegal immigrant.

The department will investigate complaints and randomly audit companies. According to the provisions of the law, however, the agency cannot accept and investigate complaints or conduct audits until July 1 at businesses employing 100 or more workers, and July 1, 2010, at businesses employing less than 100 workers.

A Web site, http://www.llr.state.sc.us/immigration, is available to assist employees, employers and others affected by the law.