Responsible Hiring – It’s Not Always Easy

On Friday Houston television station KTRX aired an interview with a building contractor in Houston, Drew Evans, who feels that his decision not to hire illegal immigrants costs him jobs which end up going to contractors who underpay their workers and can therefore submit lower bids for projects.    Mr. Evans is frustrated with the government for not enforcing the law and with other contractors who refuse to run their businesses responsibly.  He says that many Americans in service industries are similarly losing out. 

President Obama expressed the same frustration on Thursday in a press conference:

“We cannot continue just to look the other way as a significant portion of our economy operates outside the law.  It breeds abuse and bad practices.  It punishes employers who act responsibly and undercuts American workers."

As we struggle to find balance while we look toward economic recovery, we need to remember how much we have to lose when we allow social responsibility to be ignored.