Posted by: Peter G | July 2, 2009 8:57 AM

My understanding is that this guy actually paid his workers according to the law: minimum wage, overtime, etc. As Attorney Polan said, he was not exploiting them.

If so, then his arrest is a complete travesty. First, you'd be hard-pressed to find a restaurant in Connecticut that doesn't employ undocumented immigrants. Second, many if not most of them exploit immigrant workers by paying them at substantially less than the law requires. I am aware of a number of very well-heeled restaurants that will pay a dishwasher as little as $75 for a twelve hour shift - a rate that is a full $1.75 cents an hour less than the Connecticut minimum wage. And since most of these kitchen workers work five or six or even seven days a week, their bosses are also usually cheating them out of hundreds of dollars in overtime wages.

I recently reviewed a case involving an owner of multiple restaurants who has employed both documented and undocumented workers at less than minimum wage with no overtime. If the employer's wage theft is as widespread throughout his business operations as it appears, it is reasonable to estimate that every penny of profit he has made in the last decade was stolen directly from his workers. If the feds want to target someone, why not a real criminal like that?

Undocumented immigrants who work in Connecticut drive down wages and working conditions ONLY IF employers are allowed to exploit them by paying them less than minimum wage, not paying them overtime, not covering them with their workers compensation policy, etc. Focusing on employers who hire people in violation of immigration laws is upside down - the real problem is wage theft.

Posted by: bill | July 2, 2009 11:35 AM

One is a start. Peter G, if you know of restaurants that have illegals working it's your duty as an American to notify ICE or at least post them here. I will certainly make sure I don't go to those restaurants.

Posted by: Doug | July 2, 2009 1:05 PM

Great comment, Peter

Posted by: Peter S | July 6, 2009 3:15 PM

For everyone jumping on this story as an evil employer hiring illegal's, perhaps you should have all the facts before vilifying anyone. These workers are thought to have presented work papers which were not accurate, is that the employers fault? It is hard enough to run a business in this economy, sometimes you have to rely on the honesty of your employees.

Even law enforcement officials can not contact ICE when they have an illegal in custody. Additionally, while they were found to be here illegally, they were working, not standing on a street corner or riding around getting in trouble.

Should they abide by the laws, absolutely. Should they be deported, certainly. Should they be given the opportunity to make reparations for their malfeasances, I believe so. This is a much bigger issue then making an example of a local merchant whose deeds in the community far out strip this lapse in judgment or negligence.