THE U.S. Supreme Court has reversed a Court of Appeals decision granting backwages to an undocumented alien, saying it trivializes the nation’s immigration laws and encourages future violations.
In the case of Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc., vs. the National Labor Relations Board, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist said the high court finds it inappropriate to award backwages to Jose Castro, a Mexican found to be illegally working in the U.S.
This case may affect future labor decisions involving non-resident workers in the Northern Marianas, local authorities said.
Castro used to work for Hoffman, operating various blending machines.
Castro was hired for the job because he possessed documents that “proved” his U.S. citizenship. It turned out that Castro used the birth certificate and the identity of a friend born in Texas.
“(Castro) also admitted that he used this birth certificate to fraudulently obtain a California driver’s license and a Social Security card and to fraudulently obtain employment following his layoff by Hoffman,” the court documents read.
In Jan. 1989, Castro and some other employees of Hoffman who supported a union organizing campaign were laid off.
Three years later, the NLRB found that Hoffman unlawfully fired four employees, including Castro, “in order to rid itself of known union supporters.”
The NLRB then ordered Hoffman to cease and desist from further violations of the law, post a detailed notice to its employees regarding the remedial order and offer reinstatement and backpay to the four affected employees.
In 1993, an administrative law judge conducted hearings to determine the amount of backpay owed to each of the employees. On the final day of the hearings, however, Castro admitted that he was never legally allowed to work in the U.S.
But the NLRB maintained that Castro was still entitled to $66,951 in backpay, plus interest, saying that the law applies to undocumented aliens.
