RIVERSIDE, Calif., Dec. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Golden State Fence Company,
 one of the nation's leading fence design and installation companies,
 announced today that two of its corporate officers have pled guilty to
 charges related to the hiring of undocumented workers.
     "In an effort to bring this matter to a conclusion and restore normalcy
 to the business, two corporate officers of Golden State Fence Company have
 accepted responsibility for these offenses," said Golden States Executive
 Vice President Gary Hansen. "We are troubled by the charges and have
 already taken steps to make sure these problems do not occur again."
     The two executives are charged with rehiring 10 employees who had
 earlier been let go because they lacked the proper documents to be legally
 employed in the United States. Golden State currently has around 750
 employees in all.
     Since December 2005, Golden State Fence has voluntarily participated in
 the Basic Pilot Employment Verification Program run by Immigration and
 Customs and Enforcement (www.ice.gov), through which newly hired employees
 are screened by the government to help verify their legal immigration
 status. Participation in the Basic Pilot program has enabled the company to
 verify the status of all new employees over the last 12 months, while
 deterring those with fraudulent documents from applying for work.
     "Identifying undocumented workers among employment applicants remains a
 serious challenge for all companies, especially those in the construction
 sector," Mr. Hansen said. "So we encourage other companies in the fencing
 business to also participate in this government program as it creates a
 level playing field in the industry and is the only way to reassure our
 customers that we are providing dependable service with legally documented
 workers."
     Since December 2005, Golden State Fence has also implemented
 educational workshops for all employees involved in the hiring process and
 conducted extensive outreach to hire legally documented workers, including
 recruitment through the State Unemployment Office, through military veteran
 employment agencies, community colleges and adult education schools.
     Mr. Hansen added: "I also want to reassure our customers that despite
 these charges, Golden State Fence stands by the quality of the work
 performed by all our employees, which we believe is the best in the
 business. We have always hired people because they are experienced,
 dedicated and tough enough to do the job, not because they are cheap. We
 pay some of the best wages in our industry, plus benefits like health care,
 sick pay and vacation time. Every one of our employees, no matter when they
 were hired, passed a stringent skills test before being considered for
 employment."
     About Golden State Fence
     A family-owned business, Golden State Fence Company is one of the
 nation's leading fence design and installation companies, with over 25
 years of experience. Following a "take care of the customer" philosophy,
 Golden State Fence offers architectural presentations, fence details, value
 engineering and installation to provide any style, size or design of fence
 available. Based in Riverside, California, Golden State Fence has eight
 locations - Riverside, Oceanside, Anaheim, Palmdale, Santa Paula, Brawley,
 Menifee and Bakersfield.
 
 

SOURCE Golden State Fence Company