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Tenth Circuit Upholds Temporary Injunction Involving Certain Business Immigration Compliance Issues |
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by Emily Haverkamp, Immigration Attorney
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Thursday, 04 February 2010 |
 On February 2, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit enjoined Oklahoma from enforcing certain employment provisions of House Bill 1804, a state immigration enforcement bill. Specifically, employer sanctions and independent contractor requirements cannot be enforced at this time. The Court held that the state may enforce provisions which require public employers and state contractors to participate in E-Verify.
Specifically, the Court upheld the District Court's temporary injunction which prevents Oklahoma from enforcing the following provisions:
1. Section 7(C) Independent Contractor Provisions: The Court held that provisions that required private employers to verify the employment eligibility of independent contractors was contrary to the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) and was therefore preemped by federal law. IRCA specifically requires that employers only verify the employment authorization of employees, and does not permit the completion of I-9s for independent contractors. With this temporary injunction, Oklahoma cannot require private employers to verify the employment authorization of their independent contractors.
2. Section 9 Employer Sanctions Provisions: The Court upheld the preliminary injunction which prevents Oklahoma from enforcing provisions which would sanction employers for knowingly employing or hiring unauthorized workers. The Oklahoma law contained a provision which would sanction employers who terminated U.S. workers and were later found to have employed unauthorized workers. Because of the injunction, Oklahoma cannot sanction employers who employ unauthorized workers.
The ruling was handed back down to the U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City. The District Court will determine whether to make the temporary injunction permanent. The ruling directly contradicted a Ninth Circuit decision involving an Arizona employer immigration bill.
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