Another appeals court finds for illegal immigrants

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals may be the latest state appeals court to rule that employers cannot deny work comp benefits to illegal immigrants.

The court ruled last month that a busboy injured in 2005 while working at a bar and restaurant is entitled to lost wages for a temporary total disability, even after his employer discovered his “undocumented alien status” and fired him.

The claimant suffered an injury when a customer threw a bottle, according to the court's opinion available here.

To reach its decision, the D.C. court looked to a Connecticut Supreme Court ruling in Dowling v. Slotnik. In that case Connecticut's high court found that allowing employers to forego providing workers comp benefits to illegal immigrants runs counter to public policy as it would provide unscrupulous employers with a financial incentive to hire undocumented workers.

This is not an unusual ruling. As I reported two years ago in a Business Insurance story available here, appeals courts across the country have somewhat similarly held that the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 does not preclude awarding workers comp benefits to illegal immigrants.