Illegal worker complaints can be anonymous in Cochise County

Pima, Pinal and Santa Cruz Counties require that people accusing a businesses of employing unauthorized workers submit a written complaint in person and sign it under oath before a notary public.

The three counties are also warning people that anybody who knowingly files a false and frivolous complaint against an employer is subject to a $500 fine and as many as 30 days in jail.

“It is to make sure that those who do come in and file a complaint are telling the truth,” said Thomas O’Sullivan, chief criminal deputy attorney in Santa Cruz County.

Cochise County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer will allow anonymous complaints in spite of his own apprehensions.

His office will only accept phone calls - no emails - and probe the caller to determine if he or she sounds reliable and has legitimate information, he said. “I can understand why somebody who is reporting this kind of information might not want their ID to become public,” Rheinheimer said. “But, at the same time, we are not going to go on a wild goose chase because a disgruntled employee wants to cause problems.”

The Pima County Attorney’s office decided against allowing anonymous complaints because it would leave them with no recourse to punish somebody for a false or frivolous complaint, said deputy county attorney Daniel Jurkowitz, who is leading the office’s enforcement team on the new law.

Rheinheimer admitted that an anonymous caller who makes a bogus claim would get off free but said if that starts happening, they’ll change the policy.

“We would have to stop even taking anonymous calls or complaints,” Rheinheimer said. “That would be the only recourse we would have.”