This concerns a lawsuit in Colorado. I am not a lawyer, but I worked on this case for a lawyer (my ex boss). It is public record; however, I will not disclose names here.
An American citizen had a motor vehicle accident which resulted in the death of the passenger in another vehicle. The passenger had two children, who filed a lawsuit, on behalf of the estate of the deceased. During litigation, we were presented with economic damages: monies the decedent would have made had she lived and, therefore, from which the children would have otherwise benefitted. The calculation of economic loss, had this woman kept working during her expected lifetime, according to the estate’s attorneys, was in the neighborhood of $250,000. This amount, of course, presumed that she would continue working in the same or similar type of employment within the United States. In addition to the projected economic loss, there was another demand of approximately $250,000 for pain and suffering of the children.
Long story short: this woman was an illegal alien. The Social Security number her employer claimed to be the decedent’s was not, in fact, the decedent’s Social Security number. We found this out by calling the Social Security Administration. They would not say whose name was assigned to that number, but said the name we gave her WAS NOT correct. There were other things that would have brought up to the question of her legal status: she held no bank account, filed no tax returns, paid no taxes (according to the employer), was paid in cash, owned no property. The father of the children lives in Mexico, and is a Mexican citizen.....there's more, but I'll just leave it at this.
My boss made demands of the children’s/estate’s attorney for documentation that the decedent was legally allowed to be living and working in the United States; these demands were made before, during, and after trial; during appeal; and again after we won appeal. They refused. No supporting documents were ever provided. On the witness stand, the Judge said the employer did not have to produce ANY documentation that the employee was legally allowed to work in the U.S., had a green card, or anything else to support the employer’s claims that she “saw” the proper employment documentation that would have allowed her to hire the woman.
The economic projections the plaintiffs’ attorney claimed his clients were due were solely based on legal employment within the United States of America, for the duration of the illegal alien’s lifetime. Not taken into account were these facts:
1. She had no documentation to legally work in the U.S.
2. She had no security to continue working, illegally or otherwise, in the U.S., as she could have, conceivably, been deported at any time throughout her “working years.”
So, what good does it do to pass laws requiring employers to see documents proving eligibility for work if those same employers are later aided/rewarded by judges who allow employers to lie under oath by not forcing them to produce any documentation that they were legally allowed to hire an employee?
The judge, in effect, said “as long as it pertains to the question of ‘legal employment status,’ the employer can simply claim he/she “saw” the necessary ‘proof of employment documentation’ on the witness stand; it will be accepted as fact without any proof.”
Obviously, all our laws, as pertains to employment requirements requiring documentation proving eligibility to work is for naught if we have judges who continue to allow fraud to occur in a courtroom.