Executive's statement about worker eligibility ordinance

Tuesday Oct 06 2009 7:05 PM

Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy said her administration is preparing to use the federal E-Verify program to confirm employment eligibility among county workers and contractors.

The Executive, who vetoed the County Council's original E-Verify ordinance that was approved in August, said she appreciated the Council's cooperation in addressing her concerns by passing a new version Tuesday. She issued the following statement after the 6-0 vote:

"I've said all along that I have no problem with implementing the E-Verify program. In fact, our Human Resources Department is ready to apply it to county hires from now on, even before the ordinance goes into effect.

"However, the original ordinance was too broad. One of my biggest concerns was that it would result in fewer businesses competing in our bidding process, which could result in higher costs for the County as well as have a disproportionate impact on mom-and-pop operations, nonprofits and companies owned by minorities and women.

"My administration convened a work group that quickly studied the issues and worked with the Council to write a more efficient ordinance that still captures most County contracts.

"The federal government implemented this requirement on contracts valued at $100,000 or more just last month, despite concerns by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It's my hope that these systems will get off to a smooth start and accomplish the goal of continuing to protect American jobs."

Read County Council's press release.

Contact: Hunter George, Pierce County Communications director, 253-798-6606 or hgeorge@co.pierce.wa.us

Find more Pierce County news at www.piercecountywa.org or follow us at twitter.com/pierceco.