Opinion ID: 1189782
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Letter Sent to Aramark and Aramark's Response

Text: Aramark is a corporation that employs approximately 170,000 people in the United States, and its facilities management division provides labor for the Staples Center, a 19,000-seat sports and entertainment venue in downtown Los Angeles. In early 2003, Aramark received letters from the SSA notifying it that the social security numbers of some 3,300 of its employees nationwide did not match those in the SSA's database. Aramark reacted to these no-match letters by asking its regional managers to confirm that the information it provided SSA matched the information provided by employees and, if so, to require corrective steps from the employees they supervised. On April 15 and 16, 2003, instructions were relayed to 48 Aramark employees working at the Staples Center, who were represented by SEIU and employed pursuant to a CBA between SEIU and Aramark. Aramark's instructions to the Staples Center employees read as follows: 1. Please return to the [SSA] office to correct [the] discrepancy 2. Return to Aramark Facility Services at Staples Center with one of two items. a) A new social security card, [sic] photo copies will not be accepted b) Verification form that shows a new card is being processed. 3. You have three working days from the post-marked date of this letter to bring either. [] You have 90 days from the date of re-application on your receipt to bring in your new card. 4. A new card or verification of renewal must be in the office no later then [sic] close of business 4pm on Wednesday April 23rd, 2003. ... If you fail to comply with this letter and you do not bring in the proper documents then unfortunately your employment with Aramark will be terminated. (emphasis added). No employee was aware of the policy before receiving the mismatch letter. Believing the three-day turnaround time was too onerous, SEIU requested an extension, but Aramark denied this request. Fifteen of the Staples Center employees obtained the requested documentation in time and continued to work. However, 33 employees did not timely comply and were fired. The last day of work for virtually all of them was either April 16, 2003, or April 18, 2003. Most were officially fired effective April 23, while a few were fired April 28, 2003. Although the instruction letters from Aramark stated that employees were expected to visit an SSA office and provide the initial documentation within three days, the employees were actually given seven to ten days to provide the required paperwork, though nothing in the record indicates that they knew they had this much time. The fired workers were told that they would be rehired if they supplied the required documentation; nothing indicates when they received this information. Though it suspected immigration violations, Aramark did not know for sure why the terminated employees did not provide additional documents and even argued to the arbitrator that they could have had valid work eligibility. Each of the fired employees had, at the time they were hired, properly completed the federal Employee Eligibility Verification Form (Form I-9) and provided Aramark with facially valid documents establishing their identity and eligibility to work in the United States. Moreover, Aramark was not notified by any federal agency that its workers were suspected of being undocumented.