Encinitas

San Diego County sheriff’s deputies will not enforce a new curbside hiring ban in Encinitas until a federal judge rules on a lawsuit filed by a migrant advocacy group to temporarily suspend the controversial law, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The ban, which was adopted by the City Council and took effect Saturday, makes it illegal for would-be employers to solicit workers standing on street corners throughout the North County coastal city.

On Friday, lawyers for California Rural Legal Assistance and American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in U.S. District Court, arguing that the ordinance is a violation of federal civil rights by restricting freedom of speech.

The court Thursday is expected to weigh the merits of a request to temporarily suspend the ban until the lawsuit can be heard.

Lt. Kathy Fulmer said the department had already planned to merely issue warnings to would-be employers for the first few weeks while deputies awaited the arrival of bilingual notices explaining the new law.

“We’re waiting to get the flyers in before we get started with anything,” she said.

Conviction calls for a $100 fine on the first violation, a $200 fine for the second violation within one year, and $500 for each additional violation within a year.