How Can SB 836 (Immigration Status Protection) Affect California Employees?

SB 836 offers powerful tools that protect immigrants from conditions between the employee, their job, and the law based on their immigration status. What that means is that an employer will no longer be able to threaten an employee with termination or other forms of harassment when it comes to employment law issues, such as harassment, withheld payments, poor working conditions, etc. Should this bill be passed, it could greatly help immigrant employees facing unfair working conditions.  Here is a closer look at the power behind SB 836.

Immigration Status Not Part of Civil or Criminal Court

SB-836 removes a person’s immigration status as part of the court trial process. The immigration status can be used to influence jurors and as a weapon used by employers to prevent a victim or witness of workplace wrongdoings to testify or file a labor complaint due to fear of legal issues revolving around their immigration status.

Victim and Witness Immigration Status Protection

SB 836 makes it illegal to look at or disclose a person’s immigration status in court Proceedings. The law paves the way for immigrants to testify or file claims in California court or with the California labor board when workplace harassment and other labor law violations occur.

Part of this process helps to remove the fear that immigrants have over being deported due to their immigration status. The law strengthens other California laws that help to stop or prevent workplace violations of the California Labor Code.

Protects Workplace Safety 

SB 836 reduces employer power over immigrant employers by making it illegal to threaten a worker with punitive action, such as losing their job if they file a claim with the labor board or if they provide testimony in worker-related labor board cases, such as sexual harassment.

SB 836 and Immigration Cases

SB 836 does not prevent the exposure of immigration status in cases that are of an immigration nature. An example would be if someone’s case for citizenship required that the judge understand their immigration status. The difference here is that immigration cases are not work-related nor are they fully civil or criminal in nature. The immigration status is not a retaliatory tool to discredit or scare the immigrant into not testifying.

Contact DLaw For more Information About Your Rights As A Worker

If you are an employee in California, and feel your immigration status is used against you to prevent the fair wage or employment law statutes that make California a safe and reasonable work state, then contact us. We are your local employment law specialists and will help by reviewing your case and providing safe, honest, and comprehensive legal protection from employers who use immigration as a tool to cheat employees. Call us today at (818) 275-5799 today!