Aramark Facility Services v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1877

What Happened:
Aramark Facility Services fired 33 employees after discovering they had immigration document problems. The employees' union argued through arbitration that the firings violated their contract and sought to get the workers their jobs back with back pay. Aramark opposed this, claiming that reinstating workers with immigration issues would violate public policy. A lower court initially sided with Aramark, but the union appealed.

What the Court Decided:
The appellate court ruled in favor of the workers and their union. The court found that since Aramark didn't knowingly hire workers with invalid documents initially, there was no public policy violation in reinstating them with back pay. The court reversed the lower court's decision and upheld the arbitrator's original award requiring Aramark to rehire the 33 employees and pay them for lost wages.

Why This Matters for Workers:
This ruling reinforces that employers cannot simply fire workers over immigration document issues if the employer wasn't aware of problems when hiring. It also shows that arbitration awards protecting workers' rights will be upheld by courts when employers act without proper knowledge of violations. Workers with union contracts have stronger protections against wrongful termination.