That's the issue in an article written by James F. Kidd and Rick Blystone. This area of the law is somewhat shady at best. The above article concludes that regardless of how Florida's Worker's Compensation Statute (F.S. 440) is interpreted, emphasis should be placed squarely on the shoulders of the knowing employee, who has "unclean hands" and not the unwitting employer. At the very least, courts should place some burden on unauthorized workers to show that their employer knew or should have known when they hired the worker that he or she was not authorized to work, before it determines that accidents such as these are compensable.
I personally disagree with the above article's conclusion. If employers are benefiting from cheap labor, they should at least treat all their employees equally (i.e. provide equal access to recover worker's comp benefits). Great article, I highly recommend that you read it...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I agree with you 100%. If these companies are reaping the rewards of cheap labor they are the ones that are ultimately responsible.
Worker's compensation benefits were established to protect employees who are injured during the course of their employment. The intent was protect not to discriminate. If an employer hires an illegal immigrant, either by choice or failure to confirm legality, the employer should be required to provide worker's compensation benefits. Voluntary ignorance is no excuse
Post a Comment