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Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB, 535 U.S. 137 (2002), is a decision by the United States Supreme Court which denied an award of back pay to an undocumented worker, Jose Castro, who had been laid-off for partaking in a union organizing campaign at The Hoffman Plastics plant along with several other employees. The NLRB found that the layoff of this worker violated National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA") section 8(a) (3) regarding the unlawful firing of union supporters. The worker in question had not only entered the United States illegally but also used another person's identity to gain employment at Hoffman Plastics , a friends birth certificate was used for identification purposes. Thus the issue of using fraudulent documentation for work purposes was separate action of illegality which undermines the undocumented worker from being eligible to obtain such back pay award. The Court focused on the provisions of Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1985("IRCA") The IRCA penalizes not only acts of undocumented workers, but also provides significant penalties to companies that knowingly employ illegal immigrants. The Supreme Court shunned the use of punitive provisions under the NLRA against an employer which would benefit any person who knowingly broke U.S. Immigration laws. The dissent written by Justice Ginsburg expressed concern that employers would use the lack of immigration status of an employee to relieve themselves of responsibility under the NLRA.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court. Justice Breyer, joined by Justice Stevens, Justice Souter, and Justice Ginsburg, dissented.

Case Background

Hoffman Plastics is a small business based in Paramount California. They manufacture polyvinyl resins and PVC piping materials. In 1988 Hoffman Plastics hired Castro on what seemed to be authentic papers allowing him to work in The United States, a birth certificate. Approximately seven months after Castro was hired the AFL-CIO started a union campaign at Hoffman Plastics. Castro participated in the handing out of fliers and campaign cards along with several others employees in show of their support of the Unionizing of Hoffman Plastics. Castro and the the others were laid off for these actions. The NLRB found Hoffman Plastics to be in violation of section 8(a)3 and awarded Castro back pay and reinstatement at Hoffman Plastics 3 years later. At an Administrative Law Judge hearing to decide how much back pay should be awarded to the parties involved Castro told the ALJ that he was illegally employed and used a friends birth certificate to obtain documents to gain employment. Hoffman wanted review of the case and after two unsuccessful attempts the court granted certiorari.

National Labor Relations Act

The National Labor Relations Act was first instituted by Senator Robert Wagner (D) of the state of New York in 1935. Senator Wagner submitted a bill to congress to eliminate unfair labor practices of businesses. The NLRA outlines benefits and rights of employees. One of the most important sections of the NLRA is section 7 which gives employees rights to organize labor unions without the fear of retaliation from their employer. Section 7 states " Employees shall the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection." The Wagner Act or National Labor Relations Act was used for the Nation Labor Relations Board, NLRB to bring the case to The Supreme Court with their determination based on the Wagner act was violated by Hoffman Plastics for firing Castro and others for contributing to the Union organizing at the plant. Section 7 entitles workers to organize, or join a Union if they are so desired. It is also protected under the First Amendment of The Bill of Rights in the Constitution of The United States Of America. There have been numerous cases brought to the courts by violators such as Walmart for firing employees for threats of employees organizing labor forces to better job benefits such as pay, medical insurance and paid time off. In 2002, The National Labor Relations Board has brought more than 40 cases to court regarding violations of section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act against Walmart.

Immigration Reform And Control Act

The Immigration Reform And Control Act was originally The Immigration and Nationality Act. This article adopted by the 99th congress was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. The act added many new provisions for the purpose of requirements and punishments of the immigrant work force in The United States. In reference to Hoffman Plastic Compounds v. National Labor Relations Board it served for the illegal documentation of the worker Jose Castro when he used a friends birth certificate for identification. The law states under section 101 titled, "Control of Unlawful Employment of Aliens" that it is required under subsection 101 B to provide proper documents such as a passport, certificate of United States citizenship, unexpired foreign passport, naturalization card, certificate of birth in The United States or one that establishes United States nationality at birth with a stamp from the Attorney General. All documents MUST be verified to be confirmed as legal. A full list can be found here and a full reading of the law as adopted by the 99th United States Congress.http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/PUBLAW/HTML/PUBLAW/0-0-0-15.html

First Amendment

The First Amendment of The Bill of Rights in The United States of America allows for the right and or freedom to peacefully assemble. This also includes the freedom of speech and religion.

Court Decision

The Supreme Court ruled that Jose Castro had illegally worked at Hoffman Plastics due to his illegal immigration status. It used various preceding cases to help it come to its findings. Sure-Tan, Inc. v. NLRB 467 U.S.883 was one of the major cases used in finding its decision. Sure -Tan was a very similar case about the firing of illegal immigrants. The court did not use immigration law under the IRCA in its findings. It used only one law, the National Labor Relations Act since the issue was whether or not to pay the back pay. Not the illegal hiring decision of Hoffman. The NLRB was searching for back pay that could have been earned if Castro was not let go. Under the IRCA law Castro was not a documented worker and was ineligible to work so there fore no back pay could be awarded. The decision according to the United States Department of Labor, "does not mean that undocumented workers do not have rights under the U.S. labor laws." The courts ruling finds that workers must have authorization to be working in The United States in order to be protected under all labor laws. Knowingly committing fraud by using false identification to gain employment is a crime as much as it is a crime to hire illegal undocumented workers. The decision that NLRB had made to award back pay to Castro was turned over by Supreme court. The court found that Castro was not eligible for the back pay due to the fact that he was and undocumented worker and was working in The United States illegally. When the court ruled on SURE-Tan, Inc. V. NLRB the court would have rewarded Castro the back pay he was entitled to because he was protected under the law. Since the ruling on Sure-Tan, the IRCA introduced new laws to help curb undocumented workers. These new laws do not protect undocumented workers by allowing them the six month time frame to become a citizen or obtain a work visa.

See Also

• Lists of United States Supreme Court cases
• William Rehnquist
• First Amendment to the United States Constitution

External Links

William Rehnquist Opinion Breyer Dissent in Full