Florida Court Backs Workers’ Comp Benefits for Illegal Workers

Florida employers may be under more pressure to document the status of their workers after a panel of state judges ruled that illegal residents who are injured on the job are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.

The Florida First District Court of Appeals recently ruled in the case of HDV Construction Systems Inc. v. Luis Aragon, that he was eligible for workers’ compensation benefits despite the fact that he was an undocumented worker.

In 2007, Aragon fell 30 feet off a roof causing serious injuries to his foot and arm. The employer’s insurance company paid his medical bills and a workers’ compensation judge awarded him permanent and total wage benefits, despite his illegal status. The insurer asserted Aragon should not be eligible for wage benefits based on his illegal status and the fact he could find other less demanding work.

However, the judge found that the combination of Aragon’s physical injuries, illegal status, and inability to communicate fluently in English, effectively rendered him unemployable. As a result, he awarded Aragon wage benefits. The employer and insurer then appealed the case.

The First District Court ruled the workers’ compensation judge was correct in awarding Aragon wage benefits, saying it was the expressed legislative intent of the state’s workers’ compensation law that even illegal and unlawfully employed workers should be eligible for benefits.

“The Florida Legislature has long recognized that although the employment of illegal aliens is prohibited by federal and state law, violation of these laws is an unfortunate reality,” said the court. “The cost of injuries sustained by unlawful workers, being no less real that those suffered by lawful workers, should be borne by the industry giving rise to the risk, not the general taxpaying public.”

Further, the court ruled that the construction company knew or should have known that Aragon was an undocumented worker. “An entity that knowingly employs unlawful labor should not be able to shirk the cost of the injuries it creates, ultimately placing it in an unfairly superior financial position to those employers who operate lawfully,” said the court.