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.