mandatory state ID cards & constitutionality of prof licensing

[Blank Frank]

Workplace Anger Over Police Screenings
                                               ID and fingerprint
requirements for Anaheim alcohol
                                            establishments disturb
employees, union and legal experts.

                                            By KIMI YOSHINO, Times Staff
Writer


                                                 Anaheim police are
under fire for requiring bartenders, janitors
                                            and other employees of
alcohol-selling establishments to carry
                                            city-issued identification
cards as well as provide officers with
                                            fingerprints and personal
information.
                                                 A city ordinance
requiring the ID cards has been on the books
                                            since 1965. But officials
said an influx of new jobs--many related to
                                            Disney's resort
expansion--has prompted them to "re-educate" area
                                            businesses about the rules.
                                                 The ordinance requires
employees to complete an application
                                            asking about their
citizenship and arrest history, and whether they
                                            have any marks or scars. The
employees are also fingerprinted and
                                            photographed at the Police
Department.
                                                 The policy is unusual.
The Los Angeles Police Department and
                                            several other large
departments, including those in Long Beach and
                                            Huntington Beach, said they
don't require workers to hold ID cards
                                            or keep files on them.
                                                 Union officials said
they didn't know about the law until a few
                                            weeks ago, when they began
getting complaints from workers, who
                                            decried the requirements as
unfair and a violation of their rights.
                                                 "Why do we need an ID
card to sell a glass of chardonnay?"
                                            said Alastair Baird, 36, an
employee at Disneyland's exclusive Club
                                            33 who said he was frisked
by police officers before being
                                            fingerprinted at the jail.
"I'm just a waiter, and it felt like a criminal
                                            process."
                                                 An attorney for the
Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees
                                            International Union has
asked the Anaheim City Council to rescind
                                            the ordinance at its meeting
next Tuesday and was joined by other
                                            groups in denouncing the ID
cards.
                                                 "It gives police
unbridled discretion to crack down on people
                                            they don't like," said Dan
Tokaji, a staff attorney with the American
                                            Civil Liberties Union of
Southern California. "This is not a police
                                            state. . . . You don't have
to have an identification card to live,
                                            work and enjoy the benefits
of freedom in our country."
                                                 Those who do not have
the laminated ID card are guilty of a
                                            misdemeanor and could be
fined. In addition, some employers have
                                            threatened to fire workers
who do not have the card, said union
                                            spokesman John Earl.
                                                 Police deny that they
are attempting to gather intelligence and
                                            emphasized that the
information will simply be kept on file in case it
                                            is needed as part of a
criminal investigation.
                                                 "Right now, it is our
belief that the ordinance is legal and
                                            constitutional, but the city
attorney's office is reviewing it to look
                                            into whatever issues are
being expressed," Sgt. Rick Martinez said.
                                                 Police run a warrants
check on those required to hold ID cards
                                            but do not conduct fuller
background investigations, he added. The
                                            information is not passed on
to employers or immigration
                                            authorities.
                                                 "We are very sensitive
to the INS issues in this city," Martinez
                                            said. "None of this would
ever go to INS. Our chief is very
                                            adamant about this. This has
nothing to do with citizenship status."
                                                 Baird, the waiter at
the Disneyland club, said he understands
                                            that the officers who took
his mug shot and fingerprinted him were
                                            only doing their jobs, but
he believes the ordinance is "over the
                                            top."
                                                 When he told his
co-worker, Carolyn Pelcak, about the
                                            application process, she
reported it to union officials. Many
                                            employees have decided not
to get ID cards until the issue is
                                            resolved with the city.
                                                 Other establishments in
Anaheim said the police have visited
                                            them regarding the ID cards
in recent years. Employees at
                                            Linbrook Bowl said police
cracked down on them in 1998. Though
                                            the bowling alley has been
open for more than 40 years, managers
                                            said they were unaware of
the rules until police showed up
                                            demanding to see ID cards.
                                                                    * *
*
                                                 When the employees
could not produce them, police issued
                                            them citations. The bowling
alley's bar was also shut down for the
                                            night, manager John Haveles
said. Ever since then, the ID cards
                                            have become a condition of
employment.
                                                 "We don't agree with
it, but we're complying," Haveles said.
                                                 Francesca Denatale, a
bartender at the bowling alley, said she
                                            paid a fine of about $75.
                                                 "I think it's
discriminatory that the field I work in has to be
                                            subjected to that," she
said.
                                                 University of Southern
California professor Erwin Chemerinsky,
                                            who specializes in
constitutional law, said it may be difficult to
                                            overturn the ordinance
because government is typically given great
                                            latitude in requiring
professional licenses.
                                                 "I think the legal
challenge to some of it will be difficult, but I am
                                            very troubled by this
because it really is an invasion of privacy,"
                                            Chemerinsky said.

http://www.latimes.com/editions/orange/20010223/t000016208.html