XBUS KJ: Unfair Labor Practices - Assignment Example

According to the article, most undocumented workers are faced with unfair labor practices due to language barriers, illiteracy, intimidation by employers, the fear to lose jobs, and the possibility that they will be reported to the immigration official if they complain about their employment rights. According to Byloos (2011), the disagreement that arises between employers and employees is that most employers believe undocumented workers should not be accorded equal employment rights as U.S citizens since they're being in the U.S is itself illegal and if they are protected by this law then it will be a violation of the country’s immigration laws.

2. What law is being argued or litigated - Title VII or some other State or Federal law? Name the law and describe its purpose
The law that is being argued is Title VII. This law prohibits employers from engaging in intentional discrimination of workers. According to the law, it is unlawful to discriminate against individuals based on their birthplace, ethnic group, and ancestral culture. The purpose of this law is to prohibit employers from discriminating against employees since they cannot speak English or because they come from a certain country (Labor Employment Law Forum, 2012).

Title VII requires that employees not be denied their employment rights since the law requires that any individual should not be discriminated against in any aspect of employment. Whether an employee is a naturalized citizen of the United States or not they are supposed to be protected by Title VII against discrimination at the workplace if they are legal aliens. Even though Title VII of the civil rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on color, ethnicity, country of origin, sex, and religion, it is apparent from recent Court of Appeal rulings that undocumented workers are not protected by this law. For instance, the court of appeal seventh circuit ruled in Cortezano v. Salin Bank & Trust Co that the employer was not in violation of Title VII when he terminated an employee based on their alien status (Labor Employment Law Forum, 2012).

It should be clear that undocumented workers are not protected by this law since an employer has the right to terminate an employee based on his or her alien status. It is clear that when undocumented workers are protected by Title VII, it will bring a conflict since this will mean the nation’s immigration laws will be violated.
2. Who do you think has the stronger argument - employer or employee discuss why - using the law as your fundamental reasoning. Do not just write something to the effect of "I think it is unfair when etc. Your argument must be based on what the law says - not your personal opinion.

I believe the employer has a strong argument that undocumented workers should not be protected by Title VII since they are illegal workers and hence should not be accorded the same treatment as a legal worker who has permission to work in the United States. According to the United States laws illegal aliens are not supposed to be employed and hence should not be accorded the protections under Title VII. Read More