Thread: NE-Court Of Appeals: Illegal Imms. Eligible For Workers Comp

Posted: 2:59 PM Dec 9, 2009

Court Of Appeals: Illegal Immigrants Eligible For Workers' Comp
Nebraska upholds lower-court ruling in Schuyler case


sixonline@wowt.com




Nebraska has joined a growing number of states in which courts have decided illegal immigrants hurt on the job are eligible for workers' compensation benefits.

The Nebraska Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a lower-court ruling that slaughterhouse worker Odilon Visoso should continue to receive weekly wages of about $340, payment for future medical expenses related to his spine injury and other benefits.

In 2006, a 100-pound slab of beef fell from a hook and landed on Visoso at a plant in Schuyler where nearly 5,000 cattle are processed each day. Visoso had surgery in October 2007 and was fired shortly after by Cargill because, according to court documents, the company had discovered he was an illegal immigrant.

"If it was the intent of the Nebraska Legislature to exclude illegal aliens from the definition of covered employees or workers, it could have easily included a modifier in the statute, but the Legislature did not, and has not, done so," Judge Richard Sievers wrote in the opinion for the appellate court.

State law says all employees, including "aliens," are eligible for worker's compensation. The law does not define "aliens," but the court said the common definition includes those who aren't legal residents and can't legally work in the U.S.

Workers' compensation provides weekly disability payments when employees can't work because of on-the-job accidents.

Cargill disputed Visoso's claim that he suffered any disabilities during his work at the slaughterhouse and spokesman Mark Klein said Wednesday "there was no medical reason" he couldn't work.

"There was no medical reason he could not return to a job and therefore he was not entitled to have his wages replaced so long as his undocumented status was the only reason he had a wage loss," Klein wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

The appellate court, however, disagreed, ruling that Visoso's injury prevented him from working.

Arguments that illegal immigrants shouldn't get some workers' compensation benefits haven't passed muster with most of the courts that have considered similar cases in the past few years, said a national workers' compensation consultant.

"It's absolutely common. In most states where it's come up, courts have allowed illegal immigrants" to receive workers' compensation benefits, said Thomas Lynch, chief executive of Massachusetts-based Lynch, Ryan & Associates.

The decisions haven't put a big financial burden on companies because illegal immigrants tend not to seek benefits for fear their illegal status will be discovered and they will be deported, he added.

It was unclear Wednesday whether Visoso was still living in Nebraska. There were no phone numbers listed for him and his attorney was not immediately available for comment.


http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/78897172.html

This is just SO wrong! A decision like this should be put before voters, they're the ones who have to pay these invaders...

Originally Posted by nomas

This is just SO wrong! A decision like this should be put before voters, they're the ones who have to pay these invaders...

Workers compensation is paid by the employer, not the taxpayers. In this case I support making the crooked employers pay 100% of the illegals medical and support bills, as long as the illegal never again gets a US job or taxpayer benefits.

Basically legalizes the illegal by knowingly letting them work and protect them.

Actually, the customer of that crooked employer will end up footing the bill being charged price increases in goods and services. No employer will pay anything out of their own pocket--PROFIT is their god. Greed is good.
The problem is the stupid judges, picking and choosing which laws they enforce.