Many lawmakers who voted for the new state law that penalizes companies that hire illegal immigrants probably didn’t expect Howard Industries Inc. to be considered the first possible violator.

The Laurel-based company has been a bedrock of the economy in south Mississippi, employing some 4,000 workers. The private, family run business was founded in the 1960s.

State lawmakers, largely persuaded by a promise of job creation, approved a $31.5 million, taxpayer-backed incentive plan in 2002 aimed at helping Howard Industries expand its operations. The company produces dozens of products, including electrical transformers, medical supplies, even the scanners in grocery stores.

It’s known across the country, but lately, not just because of its product line.

Howard Industries became the site of the largest workplace raid in U.S. history on Aug. 25. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents descended on the Laurel plant and rounded up nearly 600 suspected illegal immigrants.

No federal charges were immediately filed against Howard Industries. The company has said in a statement that it hires only U.S. citizens and legal immigrants and that it runs “every check allowed” to determine the immigration status of job applicants.

A bill Gov. Haley Barbour signed into law this past spring might prove troublesome.

The law requires public and private employers in the state to use the U.S. Homeland Security E-Verify system to check new workers’ immigration status.

The law took effect July 1 for state agencies and for private businesses with state contracts. It takes effect Jan. 1 for all other businesses.

Under the law, any company found guilty of employing illegal immigrants could lose public contracts for up to three years and could lose the right to do business in Mississippi for one year.

For Howard Industries to face penalties, authorities would have to prove the company has a current state contract and illegal workers were hired since the law took effect. They also would have to prove the company either didn’t use E-Verify or it ignored results showing the employees weren’t legal.

It’s a tall order, especially since no one is saying publicly whether Howard Industries even has a state contract. But an investigation by Attorney General Jim Hood would keep the company’s name in the spotlight.

Meanwhile, some lawmakers already are running to the company’s defense.

“I’m sure Howard Industries and others have gone through the process of making sure their employees are legal citizens,” said state Sen. Lee Yancy, R-Brandon, one of the authors of the law. “I give them the benefit of the doubt. But we have to wait and see how it all shakes out.”

Barbour had reservations about the law from the beginning, specifically about the reliability of E-Verify.