DO UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS HAVE STANDING TO BRING CLAIMS FOR RETALIATORY DISCHARGE AGAINST THEIR EMPLOYERS?

In Precision Industries, P.I., Inc. (August 5, 2014), the Tennessee Court of Appeals addressed the question whether an undocumented alien can file a claim for retaliatory discharge against his/her employer.  In that case, the employee filed a retaliatory discharge complaint alleging that he had been unlawfully terminated for filing a workers’ compensation claim.  The trial court dismissed the case, finding that the plaintiff was an undocumented worker incapable of lawful employment and, as a result, incapable of filing a claim for retaliatory discharge. 

The plaintiff then appealed the case to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.  On appeal, the employer insisted that the plaintiff was “denied something he had no legal right to in the first place.”  The Court of Appeals, however, disagreed, reinstating the plaintiff’s claim. 

As the Tennessee Court of Appeals noted, a retaliatory discharge action does not protect a person’s “legal claim to [a] job,” but rather seeks to protect the employee’s right to file a workers’ compensation claim.  Moreover, for the purpose of a workers’ compensation claim, an “employee” is defined as “every person, including a minor, whether lawfully or unlawfully employed.”  On that basis, therefore, the Court found that it was irrelevant whether the plaintiff was an undocumented alien, and that he had the right to pursue a retaliatory discharge claim against his former employer. 

If you have questions about this Employment Law Alert or wish to discuss the impact of this decision upon your business, please do not hesitate to contact Maury Nicely at Evans Harrison Hackett PLLC, 423/648-7851 or mnicely@ehhlaw.com.