Thread: SC Illegal immigrants workers’ comp bill delayed-UPDATE

South Carolina Senators have delayed action on a bill that would bar workers’ compensation benefits for illegal immigrants hurt on the job. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee took up legislation Wednesday that allows medical payments but prevents illegal immigrants from collecting payments for long-term disability tied to their injuries.
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the Associated Press
Published: February 18, 2009

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina Senators have delayed action on a bill that would bar workers’ compensation benefits for illegal immigrants hurt on the job. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee took up legislation Wednesday that allows medical payments but prevents illegal immigrants from collecting payments for long-term disability tied to their injuries.

Democratic Sen. Brad Hutto of Orangeburg County said the legislation could end up saddling employers with huge liability payments. Republican Sen. Tom Davis of Beaufort County questioned whether illegal immigrants should have access to state courts.

Illegal immigration remains a prominent issue at the Statehouse a year after lawmakers passed one of the nation’s toughest laws aimed at keeping undocumented workers off payrolls.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


http://www.wjbf.com/jbf/news/state_regi ... yed/11103/

Democratic Sen. Brad Hutto of Orangeburg County said the legislation could end up saddling employers with huge liability payments. Republican Sen. Tom Davis of Beaufort County questioned whether illegal immigrants should have access to state courts.

Well then they shouldn't be hiring illegal aliens should they? It's also illegal to hire them, so why is it even being discussed? Illegal aliens should not receive one dime from being in the US!

All I can do is shake my head when I read this stuff , they should receive no beneifits they are not suppose to be WORKING HERE..... I say let them sue the company or owner personally, THEY HIRED THEM!! A FEW PRIVATE/PERSONAL LAW SUITS AND WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BET THEY WON'T HIRE THEM infact THEY WILL BE BEGGING FOR E-VERIFIY

Republican Sen. Tom Davis of Beaufort County questioned whether illegal immigrants should have access to state courts.

So, we have one person in the Senate that has common sense?
That's the whole reason they are hired as slaves...
Low pay, ungodly hours, no W/C, and no benefits equal ILLEGAL worker!!!

They are our 21st Century Slaves.
I think they should get what legal workers get!! Then they won't be hired over an American!

It's insane that we would even need to spend time implementing a bill which would deny money to someone who entered this country in violation of Federal immigration laws and then swiped a job through fradulent and or stolen identification!

It should be obvious they are not entitled to SQUAT!!! Bills like this are simply indicitive of the serious problem illegal aliens have become in this country! There must be an extraordinary amout of illegal invaders attempting to collect workman's comp in this country if a bill like this needs to be passed!

Democratic Sen. Brad Hutto of Orangeburg County said the legislation could end up saddling employers with huge liability payments. Republican Sen. Tom Davis of Beaufort County questioned whether illegal immigrants should have access to state courts.

Companies who hire illegal invaders should be "saddled with huge debts!" They are breaking the LAW! For goodness sakes! Sounds like a politician who is worried about protecting those business interests that probably contributed to his political campaign!

Originally Posted by NoBueno

It's insane that we would even need to spend time implementing a bill which would deny money to someone who entered this country in violation of Federal immigration laws and then swiped a job through fradulent and or stolen identification!

It should be obvious they are not entitled to SQUAT!!! Bills like this are simply indicitive of the serious problem illegal aliens have become in this country! There must be an extraordinary amout of illegal invaders attempting to collect workman's comp in this country if a bill like this needs to be passed!

Democratic Sen. Brad Hutto of Orangeburg County said the legislation could end up saddling employers with huge liability payments. Republican Sen. Tom Davis of Beaufort County questioned whether illegal immigrants should have access to state courts.

Companies who hire illegal invaders should be "saddled with huge debts!" They are breaking the LAW! For goodness sakes! Sounds like a politician who is worried about protecting those business interests that probably contributed to his political campaign!

That is precisely the problem in politics; I'm certain in other nations as well as this one. Too few who are elected are actually in the positions they hold to serve the people, i.e., citizens. They are self-serving and many are self-serving to the point of being traitorous.

Originally Posted by PatrioticMe

That is precisely the problem in politics; I'm certain in other nations as well as this one. Too few who are elected are actually in the positions they hold to serve the people, i.e., citizens. They are self-serving and many are self-serving to the point of being traitorous.

Bulls-eye!

Immigrant advocate says workers' comp bill unfair

Associated Press - February 18, 2009 11:45 AM ET

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - An advocate for the state's Hispanic workers says a bill barring workers' compensation disability benefits for illegal immigrants hurt on the job is unfair.

Diana Salazar is president of the Latino Association of Charleston and says the bill debated Wednesday by a Senate panel shows disregard for human rights.

The legislation pushed by Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell of Charleston allows medical payments but prevents illegal immigrants from collecting payments for long-term disability tied to their injuries. The panel delayed action on the bill Wednesday.

Republican Sen. Tom Davis of Beaufort questioned whether illegal immigrants should have access to state courts. Salazar said banning access wouldn't be fair, either.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9864928

Originally Posted by PatrioticMe

Immigrant advocate says workers' comp bill unfair

Associated Press - February 18, 2009 11:45 AM ET

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - An advocate for the state's Hispanic workers says a bill barring workers' compensation disability benefits for illegal immigrants hurt on the job is unfair.

Diana Salazar is president of the Latino Association of Charleston and says the bill debated Wednesday by a Senate panel shows disregard for human rights.

The legislation pushed by Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell of Charleston allows medical payments but prevents illegal immigrants from collecting payments for long-term disability tied to their injuries. The panel delayed action on the bill Wednesday.

Republican Sen. Tom Davis of Beaufort questioned whether illegal immigrants should have access to state courts. Salazar said banning access wouldn't be fair, either.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9864928

WOW...what a shock! A hispanic advocacy organization believes a law targeting illegal invaders is unfair!

Their whining is at a point now where I would be surprised if pro-illegal invader groups didn't complain when such legislation was introduced! If these people are complaining, it means the bill is effective!

WAAAHHH! To Ms. Salazar! These people are here illegally stealing American jobs and you want the taxpayers to subsidize them? I suggest you go jump in a lake!
Associated Press
Immigrant advocate: SC workers' comp bill unfair
By JIM DAVENPORT , 02.18.09, 01:50 PM EST
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South Carolina legislators are pushing a bill to cut workers' compensation benefits for illegal immigrants in an effort to strengthen what's already one of the nation's toughest laws aimed at keeping those workers off state payrolls.

On Wednesday, a Senate Judiciary subcommittee debated a bill that says illegal immigrants can have medical costs covered, but would be barred from collecting disability benefits when they're hurt on the job. One of the panel's members said he's also looking at denying illegal immigrants access to state courts.

None of that sits well with one of the state's leading Hispanic advocates.

"We can be nannies. We can be translators. ... We build houses. We build hospitals," said Diana Salazar, president of the Latino Association of Charleston. "But we cannot get benefits if we get hurt on the job because we don't have a piece of paper? ... I think it's unfair."

Salazar wasn't alone in questioning the legislation proposed only a year after a new law required employers to ensure newly hired workers are in the country legally. Those that don't get fined; those who knowingly hiring illegal immigrants will have their businesses shut down temporarily.

"I think the attempt is to punish a company that hires illegal aliens," said Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, before the panel delayed acting on the bill to allow more time to gather information and testimony.

Hutto said the legislation would end up leaving hospitals and doctors with unpaid bills and could end up forcing employers to firing legal workers to cover settlement costs. "Everybody gets punished."
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Insurance companies are the only winners, Hutto said, because they will pay less in claims. He called on the panel not to "penalize the doctors, the hospitals, the injured worker and then give a windfall to the insurance company."

Although Hutto said workplace accidents aren't tied to someone's immigration status, a 2008 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found Hispanic workers die more often on the job and South Carolina had the nation's highest death rate. Observers link that to the more risky jobs Hispanics tend to take and safety problems tied to language and literacy issues.

Gary Thibault, executive director of the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission, said there is no data available showing how frequently immigrant status becomes an issue in compensation claims. In most cases, Thibault noted, courts have ruled in favor of giving benefits if there's no explicit state law limiting payments to illegal immigrants.

However, Thibault pointed to a well-known case involving benefit disputes.

In 2003, two Mexican brothers, ages 15 and 17, were killed when an electrical trench they were working in collapsed. Their parents could have received a $186,670 settlement, but state law already limits workers' comp death benefits on foreign workers to half of what a U.S. or Canadian citizen can receive. The brothers' parents settled for $100,000. Thibault said that part of the law is seldom used.

Meanwhile, State Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, questioned whether illegal immigrants should see benefits at all.

Back home, Davis said, "there's a great frustration that a lot of illegal immigrants enjoy public benefits to the same extent as those who are there legally" from schools to medical care.

"In that list of things that we as citizens enjoy is access to our courts," Davis said. "And I think that there is merit in having a debate over whether or not someone who is here illegally and who knows he or she is here illegally whether or not they're entitled to the same access to our court system, to the same benefits that a citizen would be entitled to."

Davis, a lawyer, later said he's researching law on limiting court access.

"That's unfair," said Salazar. "Again, we're talking about humans that work and contribute to the economy in South Carolina. Give me a break."

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
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