Tomorrow morning, the Supreme Court will file its opinion in Salas v. Sierra Chemical Company, which was argued in April.
Initially, Salas presented the issues whether the trial court err in dismissing plaintiff’s claims under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (Gov. Code, § 12900 et seq.) on grounds of after-acquired evidence and unclean hands, based on plaintiff’s use of false documentation to obtain employment in the first instance, and whether Senate Bill No. 1818 (2001-2002 Reg. Session) precludes application of those doctrines in the case (see Civ. Code, § 3339; Gov. Code, § 7285; Health & Saf. Code, § 24000; Lab. Code, § 1171.5). Later, the court asked for supplemental briefing on this issue: Does federal immigration law preempt state law and thereby preclude an undocumented worker from obtaining, as a remedy for a violation of “state labor and employment laws” (Lab. Code, § 1171.5; Civ. Code, § 3339; Gov. Code, § 7285; Health & Saf. Code, § 24000), an award of compensatory remedies, including backpay? (See Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB (2002) 535 U.S. 137.)
The Salas opinion can be viewed tomorrow starting at 10:00 a.m.
