CA Supreme Court issues an answer
EARLY this year, we related the plight of an undocumented worker who was terminated by his employer because of his disability, and whose fate rested on the hands of the California Supreme Court:
Vicente Salas started work for Sierra Chemical in 2003 as a seasonal worker in its production line. Seasonal workers are laid off when production is low and rehired the following year when production picks up.
In 2006, Salas injured his back and applied for worker’s compensation. In December 2006, Salas was again laid off as part of the company’s annual staff reduction.
In May 2007, Salas wanted to return to work but his supervisor told him he can go back to work only if his back was a hundred percent well. If not, then he should not show up to work. Salas did not return to work. Salas sued the employer for disability discrimination.
During the litigation, the employer discovered that when applying for the job, Salas had used a Social Security number that did not belong to him. The employer then asked the court to dismiss the case saying Salas did not have a claim since Sierra would not have hired him had it known that he used a fake Social Security card. The employer also argued that the unclean hands doctrine barred the employee from making any claim because of his fraudulent use of another person’s Social Security number.
The employee countered that the employer knowingly employed undocumented workers. Sierra workers were assured that they did not have to worry about any discrepancies with Social Security numbers, and so long as the employer was happy with their work, they won’t be fired.
When the Court of Appeal agreed with the employer, Salas appealed to the California Supreme Court, asking, among other things, a ruling on whether an undocumented worker can recover back pay for an employer’s violation of California’s anti-discrimination laws.
A week ago, the Supreme Court ruled that California law expressly makes the worker protection in state employment and labor laws available to all workers “regardless of immigration status.” This means that even if Salas was an undocumented immigrant, he had the same rights and remedies as legal residents. The Court stated that Salas should be allowed to recover his lost pay up to the time it was discovered that he may have been an unauthorized undocumented worker (the “pre-discovery” period). Allowing lost wages for that period does not directly conflict with the federal immigration law.
Although federal immigration law prohibits an unauthorized alien’s use of any false document to get a job, it does not prohibit an employer from paying, or an employee from receiving, wages earned during employment wrongfully obtained by false documents, so long as the employer remains unaware of the employee’s unauthorized status. Thus, allowing recovery of lost wages for the pre-discovery period does not produce a conflict between state and federal laws.
The Court further stated that allowing recovery for such lost wages would advance the policies underlying federal immigration law, and discourage employers from exploiting a black market for illegal labor, considering that the undocumented worker still needed to be paid lawful wages.
Lastly, the employee’s use of a fake Social Security information to secure his job does not bar him from making a claim of discrimination and retaliation. He may still pursue these claims. The employer’s discovery that its employee was undocumented cannot be a defense to a wrongful termination claim. Allowing the employer this defense would be contrary to the underlying policies that protect employees against discrimination and retaliation.
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The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost. Atty. Sayas’ Law Office is located at 500 N. Brand Blvd. Suite 980, Glendale, CA 91203. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit www.joesayaslaw.com.
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C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is trial attorney who has obtained several million dollar recoveries for his clients against employers and insurance companies. He has been selected as a Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, featured in the cover of Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Verdicts and Settlements, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum.
