National Labor Relations Board Denies Back Pay To Undocumented Workers

In a recent decision, the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") ruled, in Mezonos Maven Bakery, Inc., that it did not have the authority to award back pay to undocumented workers, even where the employer violated federal immigration law by failing to ask for work authorization documents when it hired the workers. Relying on the Supreme Court of the United States' decision in Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB, the NLRB held that the Hoffman decision foreclosed back pay for all undocumented workers, regardless of whether the workers had presented fraudulent documents to obtain their jobs.

In Mezonos Maven Bakery, seven undocumented workers were terminated after complaining as a group about a supervisor. The employer never asked the workers for work authorization documents, nor did the workers present fraudulent documents. Following their termination, the workers filed an unfair labor practice charge. The parties settled their dispute, and the NLRB ordered