Senate minimum-wage bill adds illegal-worker penalty

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Federal contractors caught hiring illegal immigrants would be banned from government work for up to a decade under sanctions the Senate added unanimously to a minimum wage bill.

The Senate's action Thursday, pushed by Republican senators, was this Congress' first foray into immigration regulation, and it prompted an outcry of opposition from business groups.

By a vote of 94-0, the Senate approved an amendment by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., that would impose a contract ban on companies, even if they inadvertently hired illegal workers, from seven to 10 years. The ban would not be subject to appeal in court, but the federal government could waive it for national-security reasons.

Companies that use a pilot electronic employment verification system would be exempt from the sanctions.