This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I once thought that "outsourcing" was companies making products overseas rather than in the United States. After losing my job in 2008, my outlook changed.
As I bounce around as a temporary worker doing construction, manufacturing and maintenance, I encounter many illegals with permanent jobs, jobs that were once by definition domestic jobs. Jobs once done within the state by citizens or legal residents are now outsourced to citizens from other countries.
A major cause is that many businesses have not been required to verify the Social Security numbers of those applying for jobs. The result diminishes the chances of unemployed citizens and legal aliens to find jobs and lowers wages and benefits by incorporating easily intimidated illegal workers into our workforce.
Rep. Christopher Herrod, R-Provo, has proposed House Bill 253, which would require employers of five or more employees to use the federal E-Verify system that tracks the legal status of workers (the feds require the check for companies with 15 or more employers). A company found in violation a second time would lose its business license.
This lightly burdensome requirement of checking an employee's legal status would give welcome relief to citizens and legal aliens who are seeking employment.
David L. Ostler
Ogden