Illegals entitled to worker's comp

A three-judge panel of the Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled a transmission shop in Phoenix is liable to pay the workers' compensation of an illegal alien employee who injured his eye on the job.

In a 3-0 decision, the panel rejected arguments by Lee Myles Transmission that it wasn't liable to pay the claims of Fermin Torres because he is not a U.S. citizen, the Arizona Capitol Times reported this week.

The May 29 ruling, written by Judge Cecil B. Patterson, was issued as a memorandum and thus was not published. That means, the paper said, the ruling will apply only to Torres.

If the court decides to publish the opinion, which it has the option of doing, it could then be used as precedent in future similar cases.

Patterson said the ruling, in which Judge William F. Garbarino and Presiding Judge Patrick Irvine concurred, does not conflict with U.S. immigration law or federal court decisions.

The transmission shop had argued that a U.S. Supreme Court decision, in the case of Hoffman Plastics Compounds Inc. v. NLRB (National Labor Relations Board), precludes Torres from receiving workers' compensation benefits.

The nation's highest court ruled in that case the NRLB could not award back pay to an illegal alien who had been dismissed from employment for engaging in union-organizing activities under the National Labor Relations Act, the paper said.

However, Patterson wrote, "subsequently, district courts have carefully limited Hoffman to its holding, explaining that undocumented workers may still maintain claims for other forms of relief in employment matters."

If anything, Lee Myles Transmission was more at fault for failing to determine the citizenship or immigrant status of Torres prior to hiring him, Patterson wrote.

The paper said the transmission firm made Torres sign a "lengthy" form in English stating, "I am a U.S. citizen and I can prove it." Torres, however, cannot read English.

Shop owner Gregory Kaiser testified he required only "Spanish" applicants to sign such forms, said the paper.

U.S. law, however, forbids discrimination based on national origin or citizenship status, Patterson wrote.

Immigration statutes also prohibit U.S. businesses from hiring illegal aliens, though many do.