D.C. Court of Appeals decision will attract more illegal alien workers
December 26th, 2010 8:45 pm ET

Last week, the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled that illegal aliens injured on the job, though working illegally, are eligible for workers' compensation.
The case in question was that of Palemon Gonzales, an illegal alien who was working as a busboy in a D.C. bar as a busboy on June 30, 2005, when a drunken customer threw a bottle that struck Gonzales in the eye. Due to the injury, Gonzales, required surgery to reattach his dislocated lens, and did not return to work until January 25, 2006.

When Gonzales tried to collect workers' compensation benefits from Asylum Company, the bar owner fought the claim, on the grounds that he was in the country and working illegally. However, the employer claimed that they did not know Gonzales was an illegal alien when they hired him.

According to court documents, Gonzales allegedly used his cousin’s green card, and presented himself as Armando Casarrubias when he applied for a job at the bar.

The Court ruled in the illegal alien’s favor, allowing him to receive about $11,000.

Despite his illegal status, the ruling stated Gonzales is entitled to workers’ compensation payments because doing so is “consistent with the principle that the [workers' compensation] Act is to be construed liberally to achieve its humanitarian purpose.â€