DAKOTA CITY, Neb. - Meat processing giant IBP has stepped up its efforts to prevent hiring illegal workers through a pilot project providing the company access to Social Security and other government data about prospective employees, the company announced Monday.
Congress approved the "Basic Pilot" program last year, which will allow companies for the first time to verify that an applicant's name, date of birth and Social Security number match government records.
"We believe this program will be a significant deterrent against undocumented workers attempting to get hired by our company," Ken Kimbro, IBP vice president of human resources, said in a statement.
In the past, companies were not legally permitted to verify the documents of any applicant claiming to be a U.S. citizen and were forbidden from even asking if the applicant was a citizen, the statement said.
"This is why the Basic Pilot is so important. Under this program all new hires are screened, not just those who indicate they are foreign nationals," Kimbro said.
The meat processing industry, with its difficult working conditions, has long been targeted by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for hiring illegal workers.
INS agents have raided several IBP plants in the past two years, most recently last June at the company's Joslin, Illinois, facility. Nearly 130 of the plant's 2,100 employees were arrested in that raid, according to IBP spokesman Gary Mickelson.
The company employs about 38,000 workers at 23 plants across nine states. Plant employees typically earn between $7.00 and $11.00 an hour, he said.
"With a very low unemployment rate, it is a challenge for us and for many other companies to find adequate numbers of applicants for jobs," Mickelson said.
"This plan is not foolproof. Some people will find ways to get around the system," he said.
Press for Information on Placing Your Ad Here
Meat Industry Insights News Service
P.O. Box 553
Northport, NY 11768
Phone: 631-757-4010
Fax: 631-757-4060
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com
Web Site: http://www.spcnetwork.com/mii