Outside the law? Illegal immigrants seek to invoke FLSA protections

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Abstract: Employees hired illegally may seem outside the law in many respects. But are they? This article looks at a case that tackled the question of whether illegal immigrants may invoke the protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In the end, the appeals court determined that an employer cannot benefit from its own wrongdoing — by hiring unauthorized workers, it will face liability for any FLSA wage violations. A sidebar discusses a different case — in which an undocumented employee was fired after supporting a union campaign — with a different outcome. Lucas v. Jerusalem Café, No. 12-2170, July 29, 2013 (8th Cir.) Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB, No. 00-1595, March 27, 2002 (Supreme Court)