Here’s a ruling that may surprise employers: A Washington, D.C. court has ruled that illegal immigrants can receive workers’ comp for injuries sustained on the job.
Palemon Gonzales was injured while working as a busboy at a bar. Gonzales sustained a serious injury after a customer smacked him in the eye with a bottle. He was out of work for more than six months, according to a report in The Washington Examiner.
When Gonzales tried to collect workers’ comp, his employer, Asylum Company, fought the claim in court. Its argument: Gonzales was an illegal immigrant and therefore can’t receive workers’ comp benefits.
The bar’s owners testified that they didn’t find out until after his injury that Gonzales was an illegal immigrant. The name on the immigration green card that Gonzales presented when he applied for his job was that of his cousin, Armando Casarrubias.
Company officials claim they didn’t learn of Gonzales’ real identity until it received bills from the hospital with the name Gonzales on them — not Casarrubias.
And as soon as the company knew Gonzales was an illegal immigrant, it took steps to deny him comp benefits.
So who did the court side with?
The verdict
The court decided Gonzales’ status as an illegal immigrant didn’t matter — he’s entitled to workers’ comp.
In its ruling, the court said that making workers’ comp benefits available to illegal immigrants is “consistent with the principle that the (District’s workers’ compensation) act is to be construed liberally to achieve its humanitarian purpose.”
If employers didn’t have to pay workers’ comp for illegal immigrants it would create a powerful incentive to hire such workers, the court said in its decision.
Do you agree with the court’s ruling? Share your opinions in the Comments Box below.
