Thread: Court of Appeal Allows Employer to Sue Over Racism Allegatio

Metropolitan News-Enterprise


Court of Appeal Allows Employer to Sue Over Racism Allegations

Divided Panel Says Company Showed It Fired Workers Because They Lacked Valid Social Security Numbers



By KENNETH OFGANG, Staff Writer



A company that fired about 200 workers after they failed to produce valid social security numbers following an IRS audit may sue a group of workers and a civil rights activist who claimed the firings were based on race and age, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled.

Div. Three ruled, 2-1, that the suit by Overhill Farms, Inc. against Nativo Lopez and several Overhill workers was not a strategic lawsuit against public participation because the company is likely is prevail on its claims of defamation, interference with contract, interference with prospective business advantage, and extortion.

Justice William Bedsworth’s opinion was certified Tuesday for publication. Justice William Rylaarsdam concurred, while dissenting Justice Richard Fybel argued that Overhill’s claims should have been stricken because the allegedly injurious statements were protected opinion.

The fired workers turned to Lopez, a former Santa Ana school board member and head of Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana, after losing their jobs early last year. The company contended that it had no choice but to terminate them once it had given them sufficient time to clear up documentation problems discovered in an IRS audit.

Produce Supplier

The service told Overhill, which supplies produce to area grocers and restaurants, that it had turned up 231 instances—the Vernon-based company has about 1,000 employees—in which employees’ names and social security numbers did not match IRS records.

Overhill notified the employees that they needed to clear up the conflict within 30 days. One worker demonstrated that the IRS was in error and remained employed, 31 resigned, a few admitted that they had supplied phony numbers and other documentation in order to obtain employment and had entered the country illegally, and the majority simply did not respond.

Those who admitted undocumented entry were fired, while the rest were suspended with pay for 30 days, giving them additional time to provide accurate social security numbers. The company also presented evidence that it worked with the union that represents its workforce, in an effort to reinstate the workers’ employment without violating the law, and that the union acknowledged that nearly all of the affected employees were unauthorized to work in the United States.

The suspended workers were fired at the end of the suspension period. The company told them it had been forced to take that action because it would otherwise be exposed to civil penalties and criminal prosecution.

Lopez organized a boycott of the company, contacting its customers and in some cases picketing their businesses. He claimed that Overhill was using a “discrepancy of social security numbersâ€

[quote]The justice went on to say that Overhill presented sufficient evidence to support its claims of extortion and interference with business relationships, including proof that the Fresh and Easy supermarket chain had subjected it to an “ethics auditâ€

Originally Posted by MontereySherry

It is about time. Time for more lawsuits against these groups that support illegal immigrants rights over law abiding U.S. citizens.

Yes. And it would Lamar Smith if ALIPAC could follow up, by learning whether those jobs have been filled - and by whom.
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Americans first in this magnificent country

American jobs for American workers

Fair trade, not free trade