August 2002
WIN AT WORK MONTHLY
A Community Service of DON D. SESSIONS, A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORP., Employee Rights Attorneys
Win at Work	Employee Rights Update
ILLEGAL QUESTIONS OF CITIZENSHIP, ANCESTRY, RELATIVES Can prospective employers ask personal questions in an interview? Laws say “No,” because some may indicate a discriminatory motive. Employers can’t ask if you intend to become a citizen or require naturalization or alien registration prior to employment. They can ask if you can verify your legal right to work in the United States after you’re hired. Employers can ask what languages you speak, write, read, or understand, if a foreign language is relevant to the job. They can ask for names of relatives you may have working for the company or a competitor, or who (but not a “relative”) to notify in case of accident or emergency. However, they can’t ask about your ancestry, lineage, national origin, or the language commonly used by you or how you acquired your foreign language ability. If you’re not offered the job and believe illegal questions were asked during the hiring process, you might have a claim against the employer.	IMMIGRANTS AND THE LAW Have you heard about the Supreme Court decision that denied an undocumented worker back pay even though he was fired illegally for union activities protected by federal law? The decision has raised questions whether undocumented workers will be denied the protection of other laws. The answer in California is probably “no.” The Labor Commissioner publicly stated that immigration status will not prevent anyone from receiving pay earned legally under California wage laws. Recently, two undocumented janitors sued a food store chain for unpaid wages. The judge denied the store’s request to discover their immigration status, because it would intimidate undocumented workers from pursuing their rights. Other California courts have taken the same approach. In California, it is clearly a case of equal justice for all when it comes to wages, regardless of whether the person is legally working in the State or not. - Mark J. Keough, Attorney
Update on our attorneys – Don Sessions is teaching a course at Brigham Young University in Utah on “Win at Work.”
Look for our answers to employees’ questions in the "Shop Talk" column of the Los Angeles Times’ Monday Business Section or the “Life and Work Q & A” column of the Orange County Register’s "Business Monday" magazine. E-mail us at dds@job-law.com to have your address added or removed from our monthly mailing list. For more employee rights information or for past issues of Win at Work Monthly, click here for our website, job-law.com; here to order our book, Employee Rights in California; or contact our office directly at 23456 Madero, Suite 170, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, (949) 380-0900, (800) 774-7494, mailto:info@job-law.com. The Win at Work portion of Win at Work Monthly is from our ongoing syndicated column which has appeared in the Los Angeles Times’ “Career Builder Magazine” and elsewhere. Win at Work Monthly is intended for general information and should not be construed as legal advice or opinion. Readers in need of legal advice should promptly retain the services of an attorney. ©2002 by Don D. Sessions.