Advocacy
LAS–ELC Asks California Supreme Court to Protect Immigrant Workers
Download the Petition for Review in PDF format
On Friday, September 16, 2011, the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center asked the California Supreme Court to reverse a lower court opinion that, if allowed to stand, could be a major setback for the rights of immigrant workers in the state.
By submitting a Petition for Review in the case, Salas v. Sierra Chemical Co., the LAS–ELC seeks to ensure that a landmark workers’ rights bill is given full effect. That bill, SB 1818, was passed by the California legislature in 2002 and declared that “[a]ll protections, rights, and remedies available under state law, except any reinstatement remedy prohibited by federal law, are available to all individuals regardless of immigration status who have applied for employment, or who are or who have been employed, in this state.”
The case involves an immigrant worker, Vicente Salas, who had sustained a back injury at work and who alleged that his employer failed to reasonably accommodate his disability. After his employer refused to allow him to return to work, Mr. Salas filed a civil rights lawsuit for disability discrimination.
The California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District, however, threw out Mr. Salas’s lawsuit altogether simply because the employer had pointed to an alleged discrepancy with his Social Security number. Agreeing with the employer that this meant Mr. Salas was not entitled to employment in the first place, the Court ruled that Mr. Salas could not bring suit to enforce his civil rights.
“It is imperative that the Supreme Court review the decision below and reaffirm the State of California’s commitment that all workers have civil rights regardless of their immigration status,” said Araceli Martínez-Olguín, LAS–ELC Staff Attorney.
Mr. Salas is also represented by David C. Rancaño, of Rancaño & Rancaño PLC in Modesto, and Margaret P. Stevens of Stevens Law in Century City.
The case is Salas v. Sierra Chemical Co., No. S196568. See the Petition for Review in PDF format