GREENVILLE, S.C. - Just 16 of the 600 businesses checked since July have been cited under South Carolina's new immigration law, touted by state lawmakers as one of the toughest in the nation.

The Greenville News reported Monday that Jim Knight, spokesman for the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, said the citations have totaled more than $60,000 in penalties. But nearly all the penalties were waived under the law's provision that allows first-time violators to avoid fines if they fix their verification process.

"We have about a 97 percent compliance rate, which is excellent, we think," he said.

Investigators have been auditing businesses since July 1, when the provision for enforcing the law against big companies went into effect. Small businesses cannot be checked until next summer.

The new provision requires businesses with 100 or more employees to check the workers' legal status through a federal database.

The investigators have been checking to be sure companies have documented that new hires' legal status have been verified, either through a federal electronic database, a South Carolina driver's license or the driver's license of an approved state.

Employers who fail to verify their new workers under the new law could be fined, while those who knowingly hire illegal new workers could be shut down.

The high compliance rate shows how well the federal online database E-verify is working and the need for Congress to continue the system, said state Sen. Larry Martin of Pickens, who helped lead the push for immigration reform.

"Going from the place that we were prior to passing the bill to where we are now is a tremendous improvement, and I think that's what people expect," Martin told The Greenville News.