Are You Able to Pursue or Win a Workers’ Compensation Case Without U.S. Citizenship?

Yes, Georgia precedent holds that even injured workers who misrepresented their immigration status when they were hired are still entitled to workers’ comp benefits. If you’re employed by a company and you were injured while performing your job duties, you should be eligible to receive workers’ comp benefits.

However, undocumented workers may have trouble retaining their job after their injury. In a case where an immigrant lied about their status to an employer to get hired, the employer may be legally allowed to fire the worker. The worker would still be able to collect workers’ comp benefits, but they might also need to find a new job.

Every case is different, and even seemingly clear workplace injury cases aren’t always easy to win. If you’re undocumented or aren’t legally eligible to work in the country, and you’ve been injured on the job, you should strongly consider speaking with a workers’ compensation and immigration attorney about your options.

The Cotto Law Group offers both immigration and workers’ comp representation and would be happy to discuss your case.

Dynasty Sample Co. v. Beltran

The Court of Appeals in Georgia decided that the injured undocumented worker was entitled to workers’ comp benefits even though:

• They knowingly made false statements about their legal status when applying for their job
• Their employer only hired them based on those false statements

However, the court would have ruled against the injured worker if the employer or their insurer could establish a causal link between the worker’s lie about their immigration status and their injury. Thankfully, it’s rare that a person’s immigration status has a meaningful impact on whether they’re injured while on the job.

Continental Pet Technologies Inc v. Palacias

In another Georgia workers’ comp case, an employer attempted to argue that because their employee lied about their immigration status to get a job, their contract was never actually legally binding, which means they were never legally an employee and weren’t entitled to receive workers’ comp.

The employer argued that the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), which prohibits employing immigrant workers who use fraudulent documents to get hired, effectively overrode Georgia state law.

The Court of Appeals in Georgia concluded the IRCA policy was never intended to prevent injured workers from receiving workers’ comp benefits and shouldn’t be used as an excuse to withhold justified payments. They decided Palacias was an employee and entitled to compensation, regardless of whether she obtained the job using fraudulent documents.

Were You Injured Performing Job Duties?

All that really matters if you are injured on the job in Georgia is whether:

• Your injury occurred while performing the job duties required of you
• The injury was the result of your job

Things could get a little more complicated if your injury occurred due to something unrelated to your job. For example, if a worker with heart disease has a heart attack while sitting at their desk, they might have trouble winning their workers’ comp case. Their employer didn’t cause their pre-existing condition and therefore wasn’t directly responsible for their heart attack.

Cases can also be hard to win if you were injured while doing something other than your job duties. If you or your coworkers were horsing around at work and you were injured, you might not be eligible to receive workers’ comp benefits regardless of your immigration status.

Getting Help With the Complicated Georgia Workers’ Comp Process

Being paid the workers’ comp benefits you’re owed isn’t always easy or straightforward. You need to make sure you report your injury to your employer right away, fill out and file the right paperwork and visit an employer-approved panel physician as soon as possible. Even if you do everything right, your employer or their workers’ comp insurer may attempt to deny your claim.

Your employer is entitled to legal representation – and so are you. The Cotto Law Group represents injured workers regardless of their immigration status. Call us today at (770) 817-7581 for a free case evaluation.