Employment Litigation · Primary-source case analysis

Hoffman Plastic: Immigration Law Barred an NLRA Backpay Award for Unauthorized Work

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published August 21, 2026

Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB arose after an employer unlawfully discharged workers for union activity and one discriminatee later admitted that he was not authorized to work and had used false documents to obtain the job.

The labor-law violation remained

The employee’s immigration status did not excuse the employer’s unlawful anti-union discharge or eliminate the Board’s authority to issue cease-and-desist and notice remedies.

Backpay conflicted with IRCA on this record

The Court rejected backpay for years when the worker was not lawfully entitled to be employed in the United States and could obtain work only by violating federal immigration law.

The holding is remedy specific

Hoffman did not declare undocumented workers outside every workplace protection or categorically eliminate every wage, tort, discrimination, or statutory remedy.

Statute and jurisdiction matter

Later federal and state cases distinguish earned wages from post-discharge backpay and apply different statutes differently. Current law, work authorization, and the requested remedy must be analyzed together.

Key takeaways

• Separate liability from the remedies sought.
• Determine the worker’s authorization during each claimed pay period.
• Distinguish wages already earned from hypothetical future employment.
• Research the governing statute and current circuit or state rule before valuing the claim.