He's hired illegally by the brusque Enrique (Enrique Liporace) and paid 15 pesos (about $4.75) a day.

Two weeks before that, the Senate was already holding confirmation hearings for Ms. Baird, a corporate lawyer, but she pulled out when it was discovered that she had illegally hired two undocumented immigrants.

A controversy over the hiring of over 500 new employees broke around the same time; detractors suggested that they were hired illegally, either in return for money or because of political reasons.

Mr. Landis has acknowledged that the children were hired illegally and that he "decided to break the law."

But an appellate court last month ruled that Mr. O'Rourke had illegally hired outside contractors to do the work.

However, usually these seasonal laborers are hired illegally.

In 2013 it emerged Hautala had illegally hired black market labour for cleaning and illegally withheld pension contributions for repair work.

Indeed, in a country where government bureaucrats are largely untouchable, Regina Gordilho may have been slightly crazy: she tried to dismiss 486 city council employees who had been hired illegally.

In March 2010, Bruce filed suit against the city of Colorado Springs and its city council, charging that they had illegally hired outside legal counsel.

Because the government is moving so slowly to require compliance with the law, advocacy groups have tried to at least encourage employers to treat the children they have illegally hired better.