More than 200 employees let go from Pro's Ranch Markets after I-9 audit

[The Straight Story]

More than 200 employees let go from Pro's Ranch Markets after I-9 audit

At least 200 people were fired from their jobs at Pro's Ranch Markets locations in Kern County Tuesday as a result of a routine I-9 audit by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The business has two locations in Bakersfield, and one each in Delano and Arvin. The employees received the news Tuesday, said Julie A. Pace, company attorney with The Cavanagh Law Firm.

Anyone found ineligible to work has the right to contest ICE's findings, Pace said. So far, between 12 and 20 employees who were at first declared ineligible have kept their jobs after contesting the matter.

The I-9 form is used to confirm that an employee is authorized to work in the United States.

In all, Pro's Ranch Markets lost about 20 percent of its 3,500-employee workforce from its 12 stores in four states, Pace said. That's actually on the lower end of the spectrum compared to some of the companies she's represented in the past.

http://www.bakersfield.com/news/business/economy/x1008887779/More-than-200-employees-let-go-from-Pros-Ranch-Market-after-I-9-audit

One of my favorite places to shop when I lived there. Always had the coolest stuff - oddly though some packages were entirely in Spanish and I could not tell what the ingredients were.