[Ancapistani]

> This is an order of magnitude more expensive than the pennies they saved by looking the other way.

That depends on how long they expect to get away with it.

If you can pay a minor $25k/yr to do a job that would otherwise cost you $35k/yr, as long as you expect to get "caught" less frequently than every 18 months you're coming out ahead financially.

Realistically... I don't know what the actual cost savings are here, nor how frequently people get caught. Based on how often I see these reports in the press versus how often I'm personally aware of it happening, it seems like the chances of having to pay the fine at all are very, very low.

Two of the locations mentioned in the article are near enough to me that I know people who work at the facilities in question. They're rife with people working under false documentation. They get "raided" fairly often, but... well, these are small communities, and let's just say that it's amazing how often some people get sick and can't make it to work on the same day that law enforcement makes a "surprise" visit.