Posted on 11/23/2005 9:12:08 AM PST by Mount Athos
Omar Santos-Cruz came to the United States illegally from Mexico and went to work building houses in one of Alabama's fanciest neighborhoods before he was seriously injured in March of last year at age 17. A court has now ruled that Santos-Cruz is due workers compensation benefits and medical care for life despite being in the country illegally. The case is a possible legal precedent and a sign of things to come for builders who have come to rely on immigrant laborers in a booming housing market.
But the Home Builders Association of Alabama cited the immigration status of Santos-Cruz when it intervened in the case and asked the judge to deny benefits for the teen, who was partially paralyzed while working on a home in the upscale Greystone development in suburban Birmingham.
In a decision filed October 18th, the judge ruled that Henry Lambert Construction must pay Santos-Cruz workers compensation benefits of $240 a week for the rest of his life and also must cover all his medical bills.
If an employer wants to gain the economic benefits when hiring illegals, it must accept the economic downsides, too. This is one of them.
Interesting......one way to deter immigration is for the employers who hire ILLEGAL immigrants to have to PAY things like this.....THIS kid was ONLY 17????
I bet his insurance company isn't too happy. Maybe after he starts paying high premium for the so called cheap labor they will quit hiring illegals. California just had case ruling where they are entitled to work comp benefits.
I guess my question to all of this is, Is the illegal alien still living in this country ILLEGALLY?
Maybe I missed something, but the article didn't say he was permamnently disabled, it said he was seriously injured. Since when does a "serious injury" qualify one for worker's compensation for life; ESPECIALLY a 17 year-old illegal?
In other words, does an employer risk wider liability hiring an illegal over a legal?
At $240 a week it shouldn't take him long at all to buy a ticket back to Mexico.
I bet he is. I say ship him back to Mexico and see if he can get across the Rio Grande in his wheelchair.
Kinda hard to feel much sympathy for anybody in this story. (aside from us taxpayers who will ultimately pay for it)
Excellent.
More background...........
http://www.postherald.com/me081605.shtml
This sickening mess is what we deserve for letting this invasion continue. And it is we that have to stop it.
I can see a lot of chiropractors and lawyers learning Spanish now.
No way!
From the article:
...for the teen, who was partially paralyzed while working on a home...
There are so many interesting and relevant facts missing from this story...was the illegal covered by WC? Did the employer cover him, or skirt the law? Was the builder enjoying the competitive advantage of not insuring an employee he knew was illegal? (There are all kinds of advantages in breaking the law--people rob banks because that's where the money is.)
This is an important decision, as many illegals work construction.
I wonder if the construction company was reporting the payroll of the illegal workers? (Premium is based on payroll for WC. Misrepresenting payroll is fraud.) I assume they are paid in cash???
See, you are asking the right questions.
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