Loudoun County officials are considering establishing an anti-work solicitation ordinance and opening a separate workers center if the Herndon day labor site is closed or altered to limit participation to documented workers in the coming weeks.
"This is just one school of thought," Loudoun County Chairman Scott K. York (I-At large) said. "Frankly I really don’t want to have a day labor site in Loudoun County."
The possible moves come as a result of a meeting between Loudoun and Herndon representatives Monday, July 30 to discuss the future of the site, which straddles the line between the Town of Herndon and Loudoun County.
The fate of the site has yet to be decided, as Fairfax County officials recently announced the termination of its funding contract for the site, effective Sept. 6. Herndon’s Town Council has yet to renew its operating permit with site manager Project Hope & Harmony, which expires Sept. 15.
LOUDOUN COUNTY is weighing its options ahead of any action taken by the Town of Herndon to shut down or change the site. County officials are worried that any changes to the site would cause workers to spill over into Loudoun County, where no anti-work solicitation ordinance exists.
Of the approximately 2,500 workers registered at the Herndon site, about 80 percent list a Herndon address with 15 percent claiming residency in Loudoun, according to figures from Herndon Official Workers Center director Bill Threlkeld. Between 110 and 120 workers gather at the site each day, he added.
"In the absence of the site, or a site that they would want to participate in, workers would take different actions," Threlkeld said. "If workers know that Loudoun County is a district where there is no anti-solicitation ordinance, maybe they’ll think ‘hey, I’ll go over to Loudoun.’"
During the July 30 meeting, Herndon officials told Loudoun representatives that as many as 90 percent of workers may stop using the Herndon site if worker authorization checks become mandatory. Those numbers could rise if the site is closed.
"In either case, it’s a problem for Loudoun County because we’re either going to get a share of 100 percent or 90 percent," Loudoun Supervisor Stephen Snow (R-Dulles) said.
THE TOWN of Herndon has already provided Loudoun County with a copy of its ordinance prohibiting general street work solicitations that was passed along with the creation of the Herndon day labor site in September 2005.
That ordinance has been challenged in Fairfax County Circuit Court on the grounds that it unfairly limits constitutionally-guaranteed rights to free speech. In March Fairfax County General Court Judge Lorraine Nordlund ruled that the ordinance is constitutional, provided an organized site exists for people to solicit work freely.
"I think [Loudoun officials] are interested in finding some way to preclude [informal work solicitations] from happening in Loudoun County," Herndon Vice Mayor Dennis Husch said. "The only thing that can be done about that is in adding their own anti-solicitation ordinance."
While leaders in Loudoun remain opposed to the idea of a day labor site in the county, they understand that an anti-work solicitation ordinance might not be legally defensible without an organized worker site.
"Either scenario is not good for Loudoun, but clearly we have to aggressively stay on top of it," Snow said.
Snow is concerned that the closing or altering of the Herndon site could have serious ramifications for the quality of life of Loudoun residents
"I am fearful that you’ll end up with roving pick-up places," he said. "All of a sudden you might get vans of individuals showing up in our residential areas."