California court orders UC to reconsider ban on hiring undocumented students

🌴California Court of Appeal ruled on Aug. 5, 2025, that UC's policy barring undocumented students from campus jobs discriminates under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, ordering the university system to reconsider its hiring criteria.

UC allows DACA recipients to work campus jobs but excludes other undocumented students based on federal work authorization, creating what the court found to be discriminatory treatment among similarly situated students.

The lawsuit was filed in Oct. 2024 by UC alumnus Jeffry Umaña Muñoz and lecturer Iliana Perez, represented by UCLA Law's Center for Immigration Law and Policy, after the 🌴California Supreme Court reinstated their case.

AB 540 grants many undocumented students in-state tuition benefits, yet these same students face barriers to campus employment that could help offset living expenses and provide stable work with labor protections.

Thousands of undocumented students are pushed into unregulated off-campus work with fewer safeguards while being denied access to campus jobs that offer stable wages and educational opportunities.

The ruling sets legal precedent for other public universities in 🌴California and jurisdictions with similar anti-discrimination laws to open campus employment to all students regardless of immigration status.