Thread: Emeryville demands hotel NOT fire illegal aliens

If this is a duplicate; sorry in advance. I looked back but I didn't see it

Hotel suing Emeryville over workers' wage increase

Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, March 29, 2007


(03-29) 19:33 PDT EMERYVILLE -- Woodfin Suites Hotel, the target of numerous raucous protests, has sued the city of Emeryville over a measure approved by voters that boosts wages and aims to improve working conditions for hotel employees.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Oakland, hotel officials said the city's Measure C is unconstitutional, conflicts with federal law and could make them susceptible to fines and civil or criminal liability.

The issue pits the city, which is seeking to protect the rights of hotel workers, against Woodfin, which has maintained that it can't keep on the payroll employees who don't provide valid work documents and might be in the United States illegally. Protesters have staged numerous rallies at the hotel accusing Woodfin of retaliating against workers who complain by reducing their hours.

Measure C, approved in November 2005, mainly regulates pay, requiring hotels in the city to pay workers a minimum of $9 per hour and an average of $11 per hour for all nonmanagerial employees. It also requires overtime pay for workers who clean more than 5,000 square feet of floor space during a shift.

It also contains a provision barring discharge of workers for complaining or demanding employee rights. The Emeryville City Council in December approved an emergency ordinance that bars hotels from firing workers who have filed complaints alleging that the hotel reduced their work hours in violation of Measure C.

The suit seeks a court injunction that declares Measure C "invalid and void."

In a statement today, hotel officials said, "By forcing our company to continue to employ workers who have failed to produce evidence of their right to work in the United States -- despite our providing them with weeks of paid leave in which to do so - we believe we are flouting both the spirit and the letter of" the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which was passed to reduce illegal immigration to the United States.

Emeryville City Attorney Michael Biddle said today that city officials had been undergoing mediation talks with representatives of the hotel.

"I'm, frankly, not at all bothered about it," Biddle said of the suit. He said of Measure C, "We're here to enforce it, and all the other hotels in town are diligently complying with it. We just wish we could do the same with Woodfin."

"Defendant, as local government, owes a duty to plaintiff and all large hotel operators in the city of Emeryville to implement local ordinances and regulations in (a) manner that will not cause such employers to incur civil and/or criminal liability in the form of fines, penalties or civil judgments for violations of state or federal laws," the suit said.

In December, the hotel placed two dozen housekeepers on leave and said they could be terminated because of discrepancies in their Social Security records. The city council then passed its emergency measure to stop the firings.

In January, an Alameda County Superior Court judge blocked the threatened firings pending the city's ongoing investigation of the workers' complaints. The injunction requires the hotel to continue employing the workers until April 20.

In February, the hotel unsuccessfully sought a temporary restraining order against Emeryville City Councilman John Fricke, saying the city official came into the hotel and berated and harassed hotel staffers. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Winifred Smith said police would be able to handle any future incidents should they arise.

E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f ... UHH950.DTL

In December, the hotel placed two dozen housekeepers on leave and said they could be terminated because of discrepancies in their Social Security records. The city council then passed its emergency measure to stop the firings.

There is NO way a govt. can tell private industry WHO they can't fire when they are trying to follow the laws. The city is FORCING the hotel to VIOLATE Federal law. This is unreal!! What is the motivation behind this??? I can't imagine a city govt. even taking note of such activity much less passing a measure and getting involved. Around here, the people would storm city hall. Where is the ACLU???

Did you ever notice that there is no problem from illegal aliens on the job until it is discovered that they are not eligible to work in this country then you hear the crap that they were mistreated. They should be fired as they did not provide the work eligibility documents required by the employer in the time specified. All this state and government money that is being spent on this illegal aliens could be better spent deporting them. They have no rights in this country.