Nebraska court orders illegal immigrant's bills paid
Posted: Saturday, August 02, 2008
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- A Nebraska court has backed a 2007 ruling ordering an Omaha company to pay medical bills and lost wages to an illegal immigrant injured on the job.
A three-judge panel of the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court affirmed the ruling made by a compensation court judge in March last year. The man worked for Sun Valley Landscapes of Omaha.
The company argued in briefs that German Andrade was not entitled to workers' compensation benefits because he is an illegal immigrant.
Court documents say Andrade broke his left foot while on the job in 2004. According to a story in the Omaha World-Herald Friday, a bucket fell from a skid loader onto Andrade's foot. He developed a limp, and that caused a lower back injury, the documents say.
Andrade, who was earning $12 an hour, is entitled to temporary disability benefits of $305.08 per week for 36 weeks, the compensation court said in upholding the judge's ruling. He'll earn $144 for 263 weeks for his 45 percent loss of earning capacity.
Andrade's legal status has no bearing on benefits he is entitled to under the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act, said judges Michael High, John Hoffert and Ronald Brown in their July 23 decision.
The court also ordered the company to pay medical bills totaling $719.28 and future bills associated with the injury, within reason.
The court acknowledged it is unlawful to knowingly hire an illegal immigrant, but said public policy favors the inclusion of illegal immigrants as covered employees under state workers' compensation laws.
It is unclear when Sun Valley Landscapes learned Andrade was in the country illegally.
John Iliff, the attorney representing Sun Valley Landscapes, did not immediately respond to an Associated Press call to his office nor to an e-mail seeking comment.
John Corrigan, Andrade's attorney, said the latest judgment is "supported by the letter and spirit of the workers' compensation act."
Paying benefits in a case like this is no different from benefits an illegal immigrant would be entitled to if hit by a car, he said.
Corrigan said it's been his experience that many employers and their insurers make benefit decisions regardless of legal status. He sees the recent ruling affecting only those employers who believe they can cut corners by hiring illegal immigrants.
Corrigan said he was unaware of Andrade's whereabouts or whether Andrade knew about the ruling. He has not talked to Andrade in eight or nine months, Corrigan said.
The case is believed to be the first involving an illegal immigrant to reach this level of review, said compensation court administrator Glenn Morton.
It is believed to be Nebraska's second trial-level compensation court case for an illegal immigrant, Morton said. The first was heard in 2002.
Issues surrounding illegal immigration continue to swirl across the country and recently have generated heated debate in Nebraska.
In Fremont, Neb., the City Council this week rejected a proposed ordinance banning renting to, harboring and hiring illegal immigrants. The proposal drew more than 1,000 people to a hearing Tuesday night.
The issue came on the heels of a disagreement between Attorney General Jon Bruning and the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission involving prosecution of cases of alleged housing discrimination. The dispute reached a head early this spring when Bruning blasted the commission for handing him a case of alleged discrimination against a Hispanic couple who are illegal immigrants. The rest of the cases involved U.S. citizens.
The federal Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate against people based on race, ethnicity and other factors, regardless of their legal status.
The dispute has since been settled, and federal funding of the commission has resumed.
Norm Pflanz, an attorney with Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest, said he regards the decision involving Andrade as landmark and appropriate.
Nebraska Appleseed works with immigrant populations to provide training and education about workers' rights and the state's workers' compensation system.
Protections can't be limited to certain workers, he said, because that diminishes the safety for all workers.
"Obviously we're concerned about the health and safety of all workers in Nebraska," he said.
On the Net:
Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court, http://www.wcc.ne.gov/
A three-judge panel of the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court affirmed the ruling made by a compensation court judge in March last year. The man worked for Sun Valley Landscapes of Omaha.
The company argued in briefs that German Andrade was not entitled to workers' compensation benefits because he is an illegal immigrant.
Court documents say Andrade broke his left foot while on the job in 2004. According to a story in the Omaha World-Herald Friday, a bucket fell from a skid loader onto Andrade's foot. He developed a limp, and that caused a lower back injury, the documents say.
Andrade, who was earning $12 an hour, is entitled to temporary disability benefits of $305.08 per week for 36 weeks, the compensation court said in upholding the judge's ruling. He'll earn $144 for 263 weeks for his 45 percent loss of earning capacity.
Andrade's legal status has no bearing on benefits he is entitled to under the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act, said judges Michael High, John Hoffert and Ronald Brown in their July 23 decision.
The court also ordered the company to pay medical bills totaling $719.28 and future bills associated with the injury, within reason.
The court acknowledged it is unlawful to knowingly hire an illegal immigrant, but said public policy favors the inclusion of illegal immigrants as covered employees under state workers' compensation laws.
It is unclear when Sun Valley Landscapes learned Andrade was in the country illegally.
John Iliff, the attorney representing Sun Valley Landscapes, did not immediately respond to an Associated Press call to his office nor to an e-mail seeking comment.
John Corrigan, Andrade's attorney, said the latest judgment is "supported by the letter and spirit of the workers' compensation act."
Paying benefits in a case like this is no different from benefits an illegal immigrant would be entitled to if hit by a car, he said.
Corrigan said it's been his experience that many employers and their insurers make benefit decisions regardless of legal status. He sees the recent ruling affecting only those employers who believe they can cut corners by hiring illegal immigrants.
Corrigan said he was unaware of Andrade's whereabouts or whether Andrade knew about the ruling. He has not talked to Andrade in eight or nine months, Corrigan said.
The case is believed to be the first involving an illegal immigrant to reach this level of review, said compensation court administrator Glenn Morton.
It is believed to be Nebraska's second trial-level compensation court case for an illegal immigrant, Morton said. The first was heard in 2002.
Issues surrounding illegal immigration continue to swirl across the country and recently have generated heated debate in Nebraska.
In Fremont, Neb., the City Council this week rejected a proposed ordinance banning renting to, harboring and hiring illegal immigrants. The proposal drew more than 1,000 people to a hearing Tuesday night.
The issue came on the heels of a disagreement between Attorney General Jon Bruning and the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission involving prosecution of cases of alleged housing discrimination. The dispute reached a head early this spring when Bruning blasted the commission for handing him a case of alleged discrimination against a Hispanic couple who are illegal immigrants. The rest of the cases involved U.S. citizens.
The federal Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate against people based on race, ethnicity and other factors, regardless of their legal status.
The dispute has since been settled, and federal funding of the commission has resumed.
Norm Pflanz, an attorney with Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest, said he regards the decision involving Andrade as landmark and appropriate.
Nebraska Appleseed works with immigrant populations to provide training and education about workers' rights and the state's workers' compensation system.
Protections can't be limited to certain workers, he said, because that diminishes the safety for all workers.
"Obviously we're concerned about the health and safety of all workers in Nebraska," he said.
On the Net:
Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court, http://www.wcc.ne.gov/
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