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SB1718anDitSeffectonfLoriDa ’ Sworkforce labor & employment law Section Chairs : AmandaBiondolino – SassLawFirm & LaKishaKinsey-Sallis – Fisher & PhillipsLLP
inresponsetoSB1718 , manyworkersare choosingtoleave thestate .
United States immigration law is federal law . Recent Florida legislation , however , is having a significant impact on immigrants living and working in the Sunshine State . Signed into law on May 10 , 2023 , Senate Bill ( SB ) No . 1718 ( Chapter 2023-40 ), among other things , requires private employers with twenty-five or more employees to use the E-Verify system and imposes criminal penalties on individuals transporting undocumented immigrants into Florida .
In response to SB 1718 , many workers are choosing to leave the state . While the workers themselves may possess lawful U . S . immigration status , their family members may not — prompting tough decisions for many . These decisions are likely to have a considerable effect on companies doing business in Florida . The Florida Policy Institute estimates that the industries most impacted by SB 1718 will be : Construction ; Professional , Scientific , Management , Administrative , and Waste Management Services ; Accommodation and Food Services ; Arts ; Entertainment and Recreation ; Retail Trade ; Other Services ; and Agriculture . These
industries accounted for twenty-five percent , or $ 275 billion , of Florida ’ s gross domestic product ( GDP ) in 2019 . SB 1718 ’ s ripple effect could lead to the loss of 10 percent of the workforce and wages of these industries , resulting in a reduction in GDP of $ 12.6 billion per year for Florida . 1
Three arrests have been made since SB 1718 went into effect . The most recent was made on August 21 , 2023 when a driver entered Florida from Georgia and was apprehended in Hernando County with six undocumented individuals in the car . Under SB 1718 , the driver now faces felony human smuggling charges .
The new law encountered its first legal challenge on July 17 , 2023 , when a group including the American Immigration Council filed a complaint in the U . S . District Court for the Southern District of Florida challenging the constitutionality of Section 10 of SB 1718 2 . The complaint alleged that , through SB 1718 , Florida has taken on “ the federal government ’ s exclusive role in regulating immigration ” and deprived persons it subjects to [ Section 10 ’ s ] criminal provisions of due process of law . 3 ” According to the complaint , the Florida law attaches penalties to “ a wide array of conduct that Congress chose not to prohibit ,” and places “ state officials in the unlawful position of making complex determinations about people ’ s immigration status and history .” 4 ( Emphasis in the original .)
It remains to be seen what long-term effects SB 1718 will have on Florida ’ s employers and on the state ’ s workforce . In the short-term , it appears that the new law is having a chilling effect . n
1
FloridaHB1617 / SB1718 : PotentialEconomicandFiscalImpact . Florida Policy Institute . April 26 , 2023 .
2 https :// www . americanimmigration council . org / sites / default / files / litigation _ documents / challenging _ florida _ unconstitutional _ anti _ immigrant _ law _ complaint . pdf .
3 https :// ogletree . com / insightsresources / blog-posts / floridas-sb-1718- faces-its-first-legal-challenges /.
4
Farmworker Associationof Florida , Inc . v . DeSantis , No . 1:23-cv-22655- RKA ( S . D . Fla .).
Author : Natalie L . McEwan – OgletreeDeakins
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