## Facts

- Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc., a California manufacturer, hired José Castro in 1988 after he presented documents appearing to show work authorization.
- Castro supported a union organizing campaign and distributed authorization cards.
- In 1989, Hoffman laid off Castro and other union supporters.
- The NLRB later found Hoffman violated NLRA § 8(a)(3) by selecting Castro and others for layoff to eliminate known union supporters, and ordered reinstatement with backpay, plus cease-and-desist and notice-posting relief.
- During a later compliance proceeding on backpay, Castro admitted he was undocumented, had never been authorized to work in the United States, and had obtained employment by using a friend’s Texas birth certificate.
- An ALJ denied backpay to Castro based on immigration law constraints; the NLRB reversed and awarded backpay limited to the period before Hoffman learned of Castro’s lack of authorization.
- The D.C. Circuit enforced the NLRB’s order; the Supreme Court granted review.

## Issues

1. Whether the NLRB may award NLRA backpay to a worker who was never authorized to work in the United States and obtained employment through document fraud, given federal immigration policy reflected in IRCA.
2. Whether the Board’s remedial discretion under NLRA § 10(c) permits a monetary make-whole remedy that conflicts with explicit prohibitions and penalties imposed by IRCA.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court reversed the judgment enforcing the backpay award, holding that IRCA foreclosed the NLRB from awarding backpay to an undocumented worker never authorized to work in the United States.
- The Court reasoned that the Board’s remedial discretion under the NLRA is limited when its chosen remedy conflicts with other federal statutes and policies.
- Because IRCA prohibits obtaining employment through fraudulent documents and restricts continued employment of unauthorized workers, a backpay award would conflict with Congress’s immigration enforcement scheme.
- The Court left intact the NLRB’s authority to provide other traditional NLRA remedies, such as cease-and-desist orders and notice posting.

## Legal Principles

- The NLRB’s remedial authority under NLRA § 10(c), though broad, cannot be exercised in disregard of explicit statutory provisions and policies found in other federal laws.
- IRCA’s prohibitions and sanctions concerning unauthorized employment and document fraud limit labor-law remedies that would reward or incentivize unlawful employment relationships.
- Backpay is unavailable under the NLRA for an undocumented worker who was never authorized to work in the United States and who obtained employment through fraud, even if the employer committed an unfair labor practice.
- The denial of backpay in this context does not eliminate the Board’s power to impose nonmonetary remedies consistent with immigration law.

## Conclusion

The Court held that federal immigration policy embodied in IRCA prevents the NLRB from awarding NLRA backpay to a worker who lacked work authorization and secured employment through document fraud, while preserving the Board’s ability to impose nonmonetary unfair-labor-practice remedies.


Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board, 535 U.S. 137 (2002)