Opinion ID: 1209439
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: prior decisions concerning preferential hire statutes

Text: In general, preferential hire systems have not fared well in the courts. The leading case is Hicklin, where the United States Supreme Court struck down the Alaska Hire statute. Following Hicklin, the courts of several states have held preferential hire statutes concerning state public works invalid on privileges and immunities grounds. Massachusetts Council of Construction Employers, Inc. v. Mayor of Boston, 384 Mass. 466, 425 N.E.2d 346 (1981) rev'd on other grounds, White v. Massachusetts Council of Construction Employers, 460 U.S. 204, 103 S.Ct. 1042, 75 L.Ed.2d 1 (1983); Neshaminy Constructors, Inc. v. Krause, 181 N.J. Super. 376, 437 A.2d 733 (Ct.Ch.Div. 1981), aff'd 187 N.J. Super. 174, 453 A.2d 1359 (Ct.App.Div. 1982); Salla v. County of Monroe, 48 N.Y.2d 514, 399 N.E.2d 909, 423 N.Y.S.2d 878 (1979), cert. denied, 446 U.S. 909, 100 S.Ct. 1836, 64 L.Ed.2d 262 (1980); Laborers Local Union No. 374 v. Felton Construction Co., 98 Wash.2d 121, 654 P.2d 67 (1982). The Supreme Court of Wyoming took a different view in Wyoming v. Antonich, 694 P.2d 60 (Wyo. 1985). It rejected a privileges and immunities challenge to a statute giving an employment preference to Wyoming residents on public works projects. In doing so it relied heavily on the recent case of United Building & Construction Trades Council of Camden County and Vicinity v. Mayor and Council of the City of Camden, 465 U.S. 208, 104 S.Ct. 1020, 79 L.Ed.2d 249 (1984). [10] We do not read Camden as casting much new light on the present case. The primary issue in Camden, and certainly the most controversial, was whether a municipal ordinance which discriminated against in-state residents as well as out-of-state residents was subject to privileges and immunities scrutiny. Id. at 224, 104 S.Ct. at 1030, 79 L.Ed.2d at 262 (Blackmun, J., dissenting). The Court did not rule on the question of whether the discrimination was justified by conditions in Camden, or whether the remedy contained in the ordinance was sufficiently closely directed to curing those conditions. It would thus be unwarranted to conclude that the Court approved of Camden's system of discrimination. Furthermore, the differences between the local hire act here and the ordinance in Camden are noteworthy. As the findings of the trial court indicate, the Alaskan economy is a dynamic and growing one, property values are increasing, and Alaska's population is expanding rapidly. In contrast, in Camden the city claimed that it was in a condition of decay, with property values eroding, population sharply declining, and unemployment spiralling. Id. at 222, 104 S.Ct. at 1030, 79 L.Ed.2d at 261. While Alaska's unemployment is chronically high due in large part to unique conditions in rural areas, the economy of the state does not seem remotely comparable to the picture of grave economic and social ills suggested in Camden. In addition, it appears that the discrimination effected by the Alaska statute is greater than that in Camden. Public works account for the majority of commercial construction activity in Alaska. While the opinion does not indicate whether the same is true in Camden, the exclusion mandated by our statute  90% to 100% resident workers required  is far more absolute than that in the Camden ordinance. As presented to the Court, the ordinance contained only a goal, not a requirement, that 40% of workers on public works construction projects be residents. For these reasons, unlike the Wyoming Supreme Court in Antonich, we do not regard Camden as precedent supporting approval of our local hire law. One other case is instructive. It is Sugarman v. Dougall, 413 U.S. 634, 93 S.Ct. 2842, 37 L.Ed.2d 853 (1973), which involved a New York statute which precluded non-citizens of the United States from holding competitive civil service positions. [11] The court held the statute invalid under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. [12] One justification offered for the statute was an economic benefits theory which is similar to the reduction in unemployment rationale, and is relevant to the factor of market participation as well. [13] The argument was that the state had a special public interest in confining public employment to its citizens, based on its interest in using state resources for the advancement and profit of members of the state. Id. at 643-44, 93 S.Ct. at 2848, 37 L.Ed.2d at 860-61. The Court rejected this argument, finding that it was rooted in the discredited concept that constitutional rights turn on whether a government benefit is characterized as a right or privilege. Id. In the final section of the Sugarman opinion the Court suggested the kinds of discriminatory practices against aliens which are permissible. Id. at 646-50, 93 S.Ct. at 2849-51, 37 L.Ed.2d 862-64. The Court did not distinguish between alienage in the non-state resident or non-United States citizen senses, and referred to authorities which concerned alienage only of non-state residents. The Court noted that alienage could be a bar to public employment if the statute was based on legitimate state interests relating to qualifications for a particular position or to the characteristics of the employee. [14] Id. at 646-47, 93 S.Ct. at 2849-50, 37 L.Ed.2d at 862. Sugarman lends support to the conclusion we have reached in the present case for two reasons. The first is that it rejects the argument that the state's interest in restricting the resources of the state for the advancement and profit of the members of the state entitles the state to discriminate regarding the employment of aliens. The second is that it suggests that the state may restrict the employment of aliens only for reasons which are much narrower than those used in the present case.