An illegal immigrant injured while employed is permitted to receive workers compensation, the Districts highest court recently ruled.
According to the Examiner, Palemon Gonzales was employed at a D.C. bar as a busboy on June 30, 2005, when a customer threw a bottle that hit Gonzales in the right eye, blinding him. (WCxKit)
Due to the injury, Gonzales, an illegal immigrant, had to have his dislocated lens reattached through surgery, and he wasn't able to go back to work — at a different bar — until Jan. 25, 2006.
By then, Gonzales was already in the process of trying to collect workers comp benefits. Asylum Company, which owned the bar where Gonzales was employed, contested the claim, in part, on the grounds that it contends an illegal immigrant can't receive workers comp.
The D.C. Court of Appeals, however, believes one can and Gonzales may now receive approximately $11,000.
One of the bars owners, David Karim, is now a partner in the D.C. nightclub Josephine. He testified at Gonzales workers comp hearing that the company wasn ot aware until following the injury that Gonzales was an illegal immigrant, according to court documents. The company thought Gonzales was Armando Casarrubias, Gonzales cousin, whose name was on the immigration green card that Gonzales provided when he applied for a job at the bar.
It wasnt until July 17, 2005, a few weeks after Gonzales was hit by the bottle, that Karim claimed Asylum got wind of Gonzales real identity, documents said. Up until that day, the hospital had been sending bills for Gonzales surgery to Asylum. But the bills were in Gonzales name and not in Casarrubias.
On July 17, 2005, however, Asylum figured things out when Gonzales returned to the bar and asked to restart his job despite not being cleared to do so by his doctor. The bar management turned Gonzales away anyway due to the fact, Karim testified, they now knew Gonzales was an illegal immigrant.
The workers comp board awarded Gonzales benefits and the appeals court ruled that is legal under the District's workers comp laws because, in part, doing so is "consistent with the principle that the [workers compensation] Act is to be construed liberally to achieve its humanitarian purpose." (WCxKit)
Moreover, federal laws designed to deter illegal immigrants from coming to the U.S. do not usurp the local law, the appeals court stated.
I'm sure we'll be hearing more on this in the coming year.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com .
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Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
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