On March 23 ,2009, Evelyn Pelayo, the owner of two elder care homes in Long Beach, California, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess to bringing undocumented aliens into the United States and forcing two of them to work at her businesses. Pelayo owned two residences in Long Beach where she operated elderly care and boarding facilities called Vernon Way Care Home and Walton Care Home. This case is pending in the Central District of California.
The two elder care homes were shut down in April 2008, following the execution of the federal search warrants. At the time, 10 elderly patients were rescued and moved to other facilities.
In a plea agreement filed in federal court, Pelayo admitted that she paid a co-defendant $6,000 to smuggle two undocumented aliens into the United States from the Philippines and then forced them to work at her elder care homes after confiscating their passports and threatening to turn them over to authorities if they attempted to escape.
Pelayo’s husband, Darwin Padolina, pleaded guilty to harboring a third undocumented alien for private financial gain. Padolina admitted that he concealed the undocumented alien for 10 years while the person worked as a domestic servant. Sentencing is set for both on June 22, 2009.
For press release:
http://losangeles.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/la032409.htm
Attorney Commentary: Although this is an extreme case of human trafficking, health care providers need to comply with federal immigration laws when hiring employees. In the health care industry -- especially in cities like Los Angeles -- there is a significant risk of hiring persons who are not authorized to work in the United States. Federal immigration law makes it unlawful for an employer to hire or continue to employ a person who the employer knows is not authorized to work in the United States.
In addition to actual knowledge, an employer can be deemed to have constructive knowledge that the person is not authorized to work. The rule states that an employer will have constructive knowledge that an employee is not authorized to work if the employer receives a no-match letter from the Social Security Administration. The rule also sets forth steps the employer should take when it receives a no-match letter, and it provides that if the employer follows these steps, it will not be liable for knowingly employing an unauthorized alien. This should be part of every provider's compliance and risk management plan.
Any questions or comments should be directed to: tgreen@greenassoc.com. Tracy Green is a principal at Green and Associates in Los Angeles, California. They focus their practice on the representation of licensed professionals and businesses in civil, business, administrative and criminal proceedings, with a specialty in health care providers.
