The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is taking action against some Floridians’ economic possibilities on the instructions of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
The department’s press secretary, Leigh McGowan, verified to Reason on Monday that the state was suspending licenses from two Florida-based companies that had broken a law requiring the use of the federal E-Verify system to verify the legal status of any workers employed after January 1, 2021.
Many businesses, including 2 that do not have their corporate headquarters in Florida but hire people there, received warning letters from the Department of Economic Opportunity in December warning to cancel their licenses if they did not follow to the requirement. The businesses had 30 days to provide an affidavit declaring that they did not hire illegal immigrants and that they would follow the E-Verify mandate in the future when employing new employees.
Two weeks have gone by since that 30-day deadline, and according to McGowan, the state has finally responded.
According to McGowan in a mail, the agency “has notified state and municipal agencies that may license these enterprises of their violation.” These organizations must now cancel all of the employer’s relevant licenses in compliance with the law.
