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Zeng Liu, et al v. Donna
Karan International, Inc., et al
Court Denies Designer Donna Karan's
Request for Discovery into Immigration Status |
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A federal court in New York has denied the request made by defendant Donna
Karan International, Inc., requesting discovery into the immigration status
of plaintiffs in an unpaid wages case filed pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards
Act.
Karan argued that, based on the Supreme Court's decision in Hoffman Plastic
Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB, 122 S. Ct. 1275 (2002), defendants were entitled
to information regarding the immigration status of each of the plaintiffs in
order to preserve a factual record on the issue. Karan suggested that defendants
might be willing to enter into a confidential agreement restricting the disclosure
of any information obtained in the discovery process. However, the court held
that it was unclear Hoffman even applied, since the case before it involves
unpaid wages for work already performed. Hoffmann concerned post-termination
back pay for work not actually performed but awarded as compensation under the
National Labor Relations Act for a worker's unlawful firing.
The court held that even if such discovery were relevant, the risk that it
would result in intimidation and possibly destroy the underlying claims outweighed
the defendants' need for the disclosure of such information.
Zeng Liu, et al. v. Donna Karan International, Inc., et al., 00 Civ.
4221 (WK), 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10542 (June 11, 2002).
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