Yes, they will survive, because the argumentative  owner causes them to lose the job. I made the mistake of arguing with a potential employer once. He insisted that the ONLY documents that satisfy the I-9 are a social security card and a driver's liccense - a passport was simply unacceptable. He was flat wrong, and stupid to boot, but pointing those facts out did not get me the job, nor convince him that the sky was blue. OTOH, I have to wonder how long he stayed in business ...