About 100 immigrant workers who participated in the Feb. 16 Day without Immigrants march and protest found themselves without jobs when they tried to return to work. Now, a debate is raging over whether these immigrants should have been fired. We say if they took the day off without the permission of their employer, then, yes, they have no room to complain.

Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli took to Facebook to share similar views. "I do not understand why some people, immigrant or nonimmigrant, think they can just not show up for work and not be fired. Unless they're using a vacation day or personal day, or the employer gives consent, we are expected to be at work. They can protest on their own time, not on the time of their employer," Morganelli said in his post.The Day without Immigrants protest shut down some businesses nationwide. Others closed voluntarily to show solidarity with their largely immigrant staff.Some workers said they lost their jobs after taking part in the rally. Among them was at least one in our area."I took off work and went to Philadelphia to join a protest there," said a 23-year-old Palmerton-area woman who claims she was told her services were no longer required when she reported for work the next day. She spoke on condition that her name not be used for fear that it might hurt her chances of getting another job. She also declined to name her employer in case he would try to blackball her if she sought a reference."I guess I should have asked permission, but I am pretty sure he would have said 'no,' " she said.The boycott was intended to show how much immigrants mean to the American economy, both in the workforce and as an economic force that pumps money into businesses and industry.It also was aimed as a protest against President Donald Trump's efforts to step up deportations, build a wall at the Mexican border and close the nation's borders to many travelers, including those from seven predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East and Africa.Six workers in King of Prussia in Montgomery County were fired from their jobs at Bahama Breeze for taking part in the protest.Bahama Breeze spokesman Rich Jeffers told The Philadelphia Inquirer that no one was ever fired, but the workers said they were all rehired to make it look like nothing happened.Twelve employees from the I Don't Care Bar and Grill in Oklahoma were fired by text message. The restaurant owner defended the firings, saying the employees violated company policy for being no-shows.This issue is not cut-and-dried, nor as simplistic as it may sound on the surface. Before the strike, some law firms specializing in employment law posted articles warning employers not to discipline their workers participating in these rallies. The Colorado Restaurant Association sent notices to its members recommending that no-shows be docked a day's wages but not fired.Whether firings under such circumstances are legal is still up in the air. The National Labor Relations Board protects workers who participate in a group effort for mutual aid or protection, but what is under that umbrella encompasses many variables, so it often comes down to consideration of the circumstances on a case-by-case basis.Some labor experts said if the protests are viewed as taking issue with Trump administration policies on immigrant workers, this might be protected. Employers certainly can't fire workers for talking about striking or taking a day off to protest, but it's unclear whether the NLRB would protect workers if they did take off and were fired.Many may have forgotten that there was a similar Day without Immigrants in 2006 after which the NLRB backed up some workers who were fired for missing work. That event is from where this year's protest borrowed its name. Eleven years ago, nearly 1 million people participated in the daylong action. This included immigrants, advocates and supporters who all came together in a dozen major cities to protest immigration reforms that would have criminalized any assistance to illegal immigrants, according to Bourree Lam, associate editor of The Atlantic magazine.Two years later, in typical government fashion, the NLRB clarified its guidelines to say: "Striking for mutual aid or protection is legally protected; those protesting immigration policies can be disciplined neutrally." The NLRB has been vague on what "neutrally" actually means.How the NLRB, which is under a Barack Obama appointee until the end of the year, will rule if any current cases come before it is unclear, but we urge the board to send a message that unauthorized time off for such protests is unfair to other employees and the public and undermines an employer's authority to conduct his business in a reasonable way.Suppose there were a Day without Irish-Americans or Day without Roman Catholics in Carbon County, should employers be expected to tolerate workers taking a day off without permission and without consequences to participants in such rallies? We don't think so.By Bruce Frassinelli |

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