Ethical Dilemma, required to ignore the law
Paula_AZ
32 Posts
I am facing quite an ethical dilemma. I was recently informed by my supervisor that I am too "rigid" about employment law. I've even been told that I cause trouble by trying to enforce certain laws, such as employing undocumented aliens. I am fully aware that we employ undocumented aliens - they were all hired before I began working here. Now that their Alien Registration cards have expired, I have requested that these employees submit new cards so that I may "Reverify" them on their I-9 forms. The last 4 cards that have been brought in were grossly fake, and I refused to accept them. My supervisor called me in to her office to let me know that she is overriding my determination because she can't afford to lose these employees for production reasons. One of these employees came right out and admitted to me that the card was fake! Neither my assistant nor myself will sign our names to these I-9s, so my supervisor is taking it upon herself to do so. However, that leaves me in quite a predicament. I thought there was a law out there somewhere that an employer is not allowed to ask an employee to break the law, but I can't find it anywhere. I am not comfortable working for this company since it requires that I "forget" all that I learned in college (this is not the only law they willingfully break, but it is the most prevalent. The other things are IRS regulations regarding taxes.) I also cannot afford to quit my job and haven't been able to find another position in this high unemployment rate economy. I've been looking for over a month. I have contacted the Federal DOL, Arizona DOL and the local INS office in an attempt to find some kind of assistance, but no one seemed to know where to send me. The INS investigator didn't even return my call! Can anyone help me? What are my resources?
Comments
"It is also an unfair immigration-related employment practice for a person or other entity to intimidate, threaten, coerce, or retaliate against any individual for the purpose of interfering with any right or privilege secured under this section or because the individual intends to file or has filed a charge or a complaint, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this section. An individual so intimidated, threatened, coerced, or retaliated against shall be considered, for purposes of subsections (d) [investigation of charges] and (g) [official administrative rulings on charges] of this section, to have been discriminated against."
Thus, it appears your protection would arise if and when you actually report them to INS for their intentional violations.
The second area is whether or not by refusing to sign your name you could commit "insubrdination" and therefore warrant being fired. That consideration falls within the labor relations arena and what arbitrators or courts use as a guide in determining what constitutes "insubordinaton." One of the traditional criteria for a refusal to obey an order is that the order must not require the indiviudal to commit an unlawful act. So, if the other traditional criteria -- clear instructions, issued by individual in chain-of-command, in writing, with consequences (discharge) for non-compliance identified, and not placing emplyee's health or safety in undue jeopardy -- are in place, but the instruction requires the employee to commit an illegal act -- e.g., knowingly accepting a false document -- then the order itself was invalid and the act of insubordination and subsequent discharge would be overturned (hopefully). A court would probably see this as a "termination in violation of public policy" issue.
I see your difficulty. You certainly don't want to be working for a company that seems to be intentionally violating the law. While you are looking for a new job, about the only thing you can do is to appropriately state your position in writing as to why your company shouldn't be doing what it is doing...but make sure you're right [by the way, the law does have provisions prohibiting the knowing use or acceptance of false doucments]. And mark out your position in proper, non-threatening language; i.e., take the approach that you want to help the company avoid bigger legal problems down the road.
On other issues, if you're aware of them, and they involve HR, then you should identify to the copany what your concern is and what needs to be done to correct the problem. In fact, on the current problem, make sure you tell them that as well. Once they've made the decision for that situation, I suggest that you then comply with the instruction [and document it] unless it is clearly requiring YOU to commit an illegal act.
Perhaps one of the HR-Hero attorneys can provide a more definitive position for you.
Most of the attorneys in our network who answer questions on Employers Forum are attending a meeting in San Antonio the rest of this week. Hopefully, some of them will be able to stop in to offer their advice on your situation next week. Hang in there!
Maybe someone else from Arizona on Employers Forum is looking to add a good HR person to their team ... or might have some job leads?
Christy Reeder
Website Managing Editor
[url]www.HRhero.com[/url]
I would also keep notes and dates of conversations that you had with this person just in case anything legal comes of this so that you can go back and verify what you said and when.
Good luck!
[url]http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/howdoi/illegal.htm[/url]
If your company fires you for refusing to do something illegal, most states would allow you to sue them for wrongful discharge that violates public policy. But I don't know about AZ law.
If they fire you for reporting a violation to the INS, I think federal whistleblower law would let you sue to get your job back.
I'm sorry that you're in such an unpleasant situation. Quitting sounds like the least of several evils.
James Sokolowski
Senior Editor
M. Lee Smith Publishers
I have resolved that my best option is to search for new employment, which I had already started to do. Haven't had any takers yet, though.
In 1997 (before my time), when this company was about 30 employees strong, they were raided by INS and lost 17 employees (who were somehow tipped off that the raid would happen in the afternoon, so none of them returned from lunch. Production took a large hit.) The lesson wasn't learned, however, because the company was not fined, but merely got a slap on the wrist. The thought that this will be the consequence again plays a significant role in the decision-making of upper management.
Oh, and I still have not received a return call from the investigative unit at INS. Interesting...
Hang in there and it will turn it okay in the end.
Again, I truly appreciate everyone's comments.
[h]Paula
Stanley P. Santire, JD
I'd like to again thank everyone who offered advice, opinion, and/or support during this period in my career. You are all a wonderful support group and I feel so much better about my decision knowing that I am not alone in my ethics.
So.....
Onward to bigger and better things (and sleeping in mornings, at least for a little while).
Key word is sleeping. You can lay your head down at night and not have any tossing and turning due to your ethics and honesty. Good luck and I will be thinking about you. DON'T EVER CHANGE FOR ANYONE!!!!
I'm sorry this has happened to you, but I think you exhibited great courage. There is a quote about courage that your situation brought to mind - "Courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow." I wish you prosperous tomorrows and know that you'll find someone far more satisfying to work for than the people you're leaving. Good luck. Let us all know where you land!
Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]
Close the book. It was a bad read anyhow. Walk out of there with your head up and a smile. You will also notice that a great weight has been lifted off your back, called stress. Poof! Gone. One more thing, you have just made yourself available for the opportunity that will be knocking. Oh, dont't sleep too soundly. xI-)
Good Luck.
I am surprised that no one posting brought up or questioned the type of "Alien Registration cards" you were reverifying. I am hoping you were reverifying Employment Authorization cards, NOT Alien Registration cards (Resident Alien and/or Permanent Resident cards) because INS specifically states that employers are "neither required nor permitted to re-verify the employment authorization of aliens who have presented one of these cards to satisfy I-9 requirement (this is true for conditional residents as well as permanent residents)" (found at [url]http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/howdoi/faqeev.htm[/url] under "Green Cards").
Once again, in writing, my intention is NOT to tell you that you are wrong or that you shouldn't have done what you did in upholding your principles. As many of the posts say, you did the right thing by leaving a company who required you to look the other way and leave your ethical beliefs at home!
We just had an instance where we were told by SSA that a newly rehired employee (who was not ran through HR before the offer was made) did not match SSA's records and the employee should immediately contact SSA. My assistant brought this to his supervisor's attention, who took it to my supervisor, who then went to my assistant and told her to drop the issue and stop calling the SSA to verify information. Her theory: Why attract their attention to us?
Coincidentally, when I informed my supervisor a few months ago that the IDs that had been historically accepted were so fake that even the copies looked fake (I even found where a Sonora Mexico ID card was accepted!), she immediately ordered us to remove all photocopies from the I-9s and shred them. No evidence that the fake ID oversight was intentional would be left in the event of an INS raid.
You know, it saddens me to take that phone call from the DES (Department of Economic Security) and hear that one of our employees is working under the SSN of a 4-year-old child whose family is being denied state aid because the child's SSN is showing income. It's sickening and it's wrong!
Thank you for letting me vent about this a little. And I thought I was disturbed when my assistant told me that the Company will no longer be Bonus taxing supplemental pay when I leave. (They don't like that law either.)
On the plus side, my supervisor bought a going away cake for me. How nice.
Today is my last day here. I have 3 1/2 hours to go and then it's all a bad dream.
Good day to all of you!
Paula