Ortiz v. Cement Products Inc.

No. 2525 (Neb. Workers' Comp. Ct. Sept. 29, 2004); Clearinghouse Number: 55812

Description

Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court Awards Benefits to Undocumented Employee

Abstract

The Nebraska workers’ compensation court found that an injured undocumented worker was entitled to workers’compensation benefits. Plaintiff used a falsified social security card to gain employment as a laborer. He was injured at work when a pot of concrete fell on his leg, causing permanent limitations to his ability to work as a laborer. Plaintiff sought temporary and permanent benefits, future medical care, and vocational rehabilitation in the form of English-as-a-second-language instruction. Citing Hoffman Plastic Compounds v. National Labor Relations Board, 535 U.S. 137 (2002) (Clearinghouse No.54,508), defendant argued that plaintiff was not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits because he was ineligible to work under the Immigration Reform and Control Act. The court found the Hoffman ruling on unearned back pay irrelevant to payment for work actually performed. Quoting a national treatise on workers’ compensation law, the court found that a misrepresentation disqualified a worker from coverage only if the misrepresentation concerned his physical condition and was a proximate cause of the accident, neither of which occurred in this case. Defendant objected to vocational rehabilitation because plaintiff could not legally work in the United States. The courtordered vocational rehabilitation services appropriate to work in plaintiff’s native country, temporary and permanent compensation benefits, and future medical care.

Additional Information

Docket Date
2004-09-29 05:00:00+00:00

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