An employee lied about their status and got a job. They got hurt at work and filed for workers’ compensation. The employer found out the employee lied about being legal to work in the U.S. and now they’re wondering if they still have to pay for the employee’s medical bills. The law is a bit unclear on this, but traditionally unauthorized workers have been covered. However, the law might not have intended for this to happen. If you get hurt at work, you can usually get workers’ comp benefits. But if you lied to get the job or lied about who you are, you might not get benefits. It depends on whether the lies were for the purpose of getting benefits or just to get the job. The Florida Legislature considered whether unauthorized workers should get workers’ compensation benefits, and they changed the law to say that if an illegal worker lies about their identity to get a job, they can be denied benefits if they get hurt at work. Some people think that undocumented workers should not get benefits because they are not legally working. But if we look at the specific language of the law, it seems like the legislature really meant to deny benefits to unauthorized workers who lie to get a job. It is illegal to lie or make false statements in order to get workers’ compensation benefits. If an employee lies about their identity or immigration status to get a job or workers’ compensation benefits, they can be denied those benefits. The “conjunctive interpretation” of a law says that in order for an injured worker to be denied workers’ compensation benefits, the employer has to show that the worker knowingly gave false information to get a job AND for the purpose of getting benefits. A judge in a previous case said that a worker was not denied benefits because he didn’t give false information for the purpose of getting benefits, only to get the job. But in our case, the injured worker did give false information for the purpose of getting benefits, so he should be denied benefits. In the case of Cenvill Devel. Corp. v. Candelo, the court ruled that illegal immigrants are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. The court said it’s important to protect unauthorized workers from employers who might hire them and then use their illegal status to avoid paying benefits. However, this decision was made before a new law was passed, and there’s no evidence that the employer in this particular case hired the worker knowing they were unauthorized. In the case of Minneapolis, ST. P. & S. S. M. RY. Co. v. Rock, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a railroad employee who lied about his identity and medical condition to get hired, and then tried to claim compensation for his injuries. The court said it was wrong for the employee to deceive his employer and endanger others, and that it wouldn’t be fair to make the employer pay for the employee’s dishonesty. This decision is relevant to a hypothetical case where an unauthorized worker uses fake documents to get hired and then gets injured on the job. It suggests that the worker should not be entitled to benefits if they lied to get the job. This could also apply in Florida, where the law says that workers who commit fraud to get benefits can be denied those benefits. So, it’s important for workers who use fake documents to show that their employer knew they were unauthorized to work, before they can claim compensation for injuries. This text contains legal citations and references to various cases, statutes, and legal documents related to workers’ compensation in Florida. It also mentions James F. Kidd as a lawyer who has given seminars on workers’ compensation and employment issues. He earned his law degree from the University of Florida in 1992.
Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/not-so-fast-a-closer-look-at-440-1054b9/
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