Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
An immigration related bill that was introduced last year passed a vote on the House Floor on Thursday with 81 voting for the legislation and 10 against.
Sponsored by Representative Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka-District 64), House Bill 1194 (HB1194) as amended does away with existing exemptions in state law for private employers with less than six employees. The bill would lower from six to one, the number of paid employees an individual must have to be considered a private employer for the purposes of the Tennessee Lawful Employment Act.
The legislation would require private employers to submit certain evidence of work authorization status of employees and non-employees to the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development or face losing their license to operate.
For a first or second violation the business license would only be temporarily suspended until the violation is remedied but for a third and all subsequent violations employers would lose their licenses permanently.
Sponsored by Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald-District 28), the companion Senate Bill 0990 has been referred to the Senate Calendar Committee after passing in the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee in a 6 to 2 vote,with 1 present but not voting, on Tuesday.
One of the no votes belonged to Senator Paul Bailey (R-Sparta-District 15), with Senator Steve Southerland (R-Morristown-District 9) choosing not to weigh in.
Use this tool to find the contact information for your State Senator before the Senate votes on this bill.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
