Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Bd

In Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Bd. (535 U.S. 137 [2002]), wherein the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was foreclosed from awarding back pay to an undocumented alien unlawfully terminated for union activity where it appeared that the worker had never been legally authorized to work in the United States. In Hoffman, the NLRB was foreclosed from awarding back pay to an undocumented alien unlawfully terminated for union activity where it appeared that the worker had never been legally authorized to work in the United States. In the course of so doing, the Supreme Court observed that the IRCA was conceived as a "comprehensive scheme" to combat the employment of illegal aliens in the United States which "forcefully" elevated the prohibition of such employment to a "central" position in the implementation of federal immigration policy by attempting to "diminish the attractive force of employment, which like a 'magnet' pulls illegal immigrants towards the United States. H.R. Rep. No. 99-682, pt. 1, at 45 (1986)." (At 147, 155.) Critically, the Court therein specifically noted that awarding back pay to illegal aliens for work not performed runs counter to the policies underlying the IRCA, which made the knowing employment of illegal immigrants unlawful, and thereby serves to marginalize federal immigration laws.