The dynamic duo is at it again. Agents from ICE and the FBI helped take down one Staffing Firm owner who refused to play by the rules.

Atlanta Georgia stepped up its pace to seek out and take down despicable employers who think they can take advantage of a broken system and get away with it. Former staffing firm owner Laing Yang of Dong Sheng Employment Agency was finally apprehended after an 8 year chase. On July 13, 2009, Yang for his role in exploiting undocumented workers was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison on charges of conspiring to harbor illegal aliens following months of investigation by undercover agents posing as undocumented workers seeking jobs.  Agents captured Yang on tape offering jobs working 7 days a week, 12 hours a day for $1,000 per month. With the help of drivers who would pick up and deliver the workers to restaurants for a fee of $800 to $1,000 per worker Yang on average placed up to 10 workers a week   Court trial testimony revealed Yang harbored over 100 illegal aliens in a 4 month period.

According to officials this is not an isolated incident for Yang who operated an employment agency in Atlanta from 2001 to 2003 and again in 2007 finding jobs mainly for Hispanic workers. Yang is fluent in Spanish and Chinese operating as the broker between the illegal workers and Chinese restaurants owners looking for cheap labor. The transportation fees and payment for Yang’s troubles would be paid up-front by the restaurant owner who simply deducted it from the workers wages!

Back to the Bat Cave Robin….

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis inadvertently just got a little help from her friends over at Homeland Security.  ICE dropped off more than 650 audit notices yesterday and to pull off that number of audits it will take a heap of cash!

Solis should have no trouble obtaining the funds she needs to help get her own house in order.  Solis is on a mission after receiving a copy of the release of a Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) report she announced the department’s system for receiving and responding to wage and hour complaints is ineffective and discourages wage-theft complaints.   “The department’s Wage and Hour Division has already begun the process of adding 150 new investigators to its field offices to refocus the agency on these enforcement responsibilities.” In addition, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the agency will hire 100 investigators to ensure that contractors on stimulus projects are in compliance.

The DOL is poised to receive a whopping $1.7 Billion dollars to help bolster worker protection programs putting every employer on notice. Sneak peek at who gets what if Solis has it her way. Leading the pack the Wage & Hour division is to receive $228 million and 200 new auditors, and then there is OSHA – $560 million and 160 new auditors.

Ouch!

ICE is at it again!   It seems there is no shortage of funds for this group of auditors and it crew. The round up for undocumented workers continues but one has to wonder if ICE has a secret benefactor.   Where other governmental agencies are struggling to pay resources to help get its arms around other illegal hiring practices, ICE continues to keep the cash flowing.   This is one agency that has yet to go to the well for money and find it’s dry….fist full of dollars.

The 652 businesses being presented with a NOI today for a I-9 audit have been selected as a result of leads and information obtained through informants and other investigative means.   In April 2009, ICE implemented a new strategy to help curtail illegal employer hiring practices to reduce the demand for undocumented workers in the U.S.   This nationwide initiative is being launched today as a direct result of this new strategy.