Don't give them reason to spit in your food

Those hardworking cooks and servers who have been getting stiffed by their employers will finally get the money they rightfully earned.

Wage and Hour Division investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor conducted comprehensive reviews of payroll records and employment practices in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, in addition to employee interviews, and found that restaurants were violating minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions.

As a result, 273 restaurant workers will divvy up $672,333 in unpaid minimum wages and overtime compensation, according to the feds.

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Martin Guajardo, the former San Francisco immigration lawyer accused of scamming his clients, remains at large since City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed suit against him in November 2010. In the meantime, Christopher Stender, an attorney whom the city has accused of aiding and abetting Guarardo's alleged fraud, has continued to practice law.

Stender's job is about to get much harder though.

Yesterday, the California Court of Appeal upheld Herrera's March 2011 injunction that Stender and his now-closed San Francisco law firm, Immigration Practice Group (IPG), must inform all their clients that Guajardo is not allowed to practice law and must turn over the case files for any clients who wish to find new representation.

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The Berkeley City Council broke ranks with the federal government this week, ordering their police department not to participate in immigration policing.

The council, bowing to demands from the Coalition for a Safe Berkeley, voted to instruct its Police Department to ignore the immigration status of anyone it comes in contact with.

This move brings them shoulder to shoulder with Santa Clara County which, almost a year ago, ordered its Sheriff's Department not to honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention requests.

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Two years ago, SF Weekly highlighted the sad story of gay immigrants who were being forced to choose between love and leaving the U.S.

But it appears that conundrum is no more. According to Washington reports, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has decided that gay and lesbian partners will be deemed "family members" when immigration agents consider deportation.

Essentially, that means gay immigrants with American partners won't be automatically deported, just as heterosexual couples are spared.

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San Francisco's Hyatt Hotels and the labor unions are once again bickering about best practices. Back in July, if you'll remember, hotel workers picketed outside the Grand Hyatt Union Square, protesting difficult working conditions and calling for a boycott of the chain.

This time, the dispute is over Hyatt's use of the politically charged E-Verify program, which allows employers to electronically check new hires' Social Security numbers, to help determine their immigration status. Both the Grand Hyatt in Union Square and the Hyatt Regency along the Embarcadero implemented the system.

The National Labor Relations Board, though, claims that Hyatt had no legal grounds to implement the program without first negotiating this change with the workers' union. As a result, the government agency has ordered Hyatt to end its enrollment in E-Verify, which is run through the Department of Homeland Security.

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Aaaaand it's becoming political.

On Monday, ESPN baseball analyst Rick Sutcliffe was on ESPN radio and said this about Melky Cabrera:More »

As undocumented youngsters across America line up today to try to legally avoid deportation, state officials warm them to watch out for potential scams that could put their applications to remain in the United States in jeopardy.

California Attorney General released a vague warning today, saying often times immigrants fall victim to consumer scams, especially as they look to lawyers and other experts to guide them through the new federal program that will grant many of them amnesty for two years.

The program, also known as the Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, was an executive order signed by President Barack Obama in June, and states that immigrants who were brought to the U.States as a child, and who were students or served in the military, can remain here for two years -- and work -- without fear of being deported. More than 1.7 million undocumented youth are expected to apply for the program.

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There might not be a more Democratic issue than immigration rights for same-sex couples.

Undocumented immigrants in same-sex marriages are perhaps the most polarizing slice of the American populace right now (slightly ahead of NBC's gymnastics commentators).
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Change.org Alejandra's Wish

We've all missed a deadline, but how many of those missed appointments meant the difference between a life of refuge and a life of fear? That's what it has meant to Blanca Medina, an El Salvadorian woman currently classified as a fugitive after she missed her immigration court hearing.

Medina had a 180-day window to apply for asylum but, according to her attorney, Matthew Muller, she missed her hearing to apply due to psychological trauma caused by five alleged rapes that took place in her native country.

The news of her pending deportation has riled up the immigrant community in San Francisco, which plans to hold a protest to show support for her.

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He was here legally!

In April 2010, Supervisor David Campos issued an official resolution to boycott the state of Arizona to demonstrate his opposition toward the state's controversial Senate Bill 1070, which gave cops the authority to check the status of residents without probable cause. Campos wanted to "stand in solidarity" with those in Arizona who felt this law was wrong.

So you might think that San Franciscans would be up in arms after hearing today's news that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down three parts of S.B. 1070, but stayed its decision on one of the most controversial provisions -- police officers can check the immigration status of those who appear to be illegal immigrants. However, it seems not everyone is dissatisfied.

We talked to immigration rights advocates, whose opinions of the decision appear mixed. In a statement issued Monday, California Attorney General Kamala Harris expressed both hope and concern about the ruling.

"I am pleased with the court's decision, which strikes down some of the most egregious components of Arizona's misguided law," she said. "It also signals potentially significant constitutional concerns with the law's mandate on local police officers to act as enforcers of immigration law."

Meanwhile, Campos described the decision as a "clear defeat," saying he was "very pleased" with the results. "It is a victory for those of us who have indicated that Arizona overreached," he told us.

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