Those at construction sites understand how undocumented workers are treated differently than other workers. They may be made to do work and tasks that unionized workers wouldn’t be asked to do. They may be operating in hazardous conditions with few safety precautions in place. When an injury inevitably occurs, an employer may be unresponsive or, worse, threatening.
Learning about the options for undocumented workers
Employers know the stakes involved after a workplace injury. For this reason, some unscrupulous employers will withhold benefits or make such threats as deportation to discourage undocumented workers from filing a claim.
- Statistics show that the rate of work fatalities is higher for Latinx workers.
- It is common for employers not to report an accident involving an undocumented worker.
- Due to the nature of the tasks undocumented workers are sometimes pressured to partake in, negligence can be a factor in an injury.
- Whether the injury stemmed from operating machinery, a fall where there were no guidelines, a dropped object where there were no safety nets, the negligence of another subcontractor/contractor, or even a manufacturing defect, a worker may have a viable third-party injury claim.
Understanding third-party claims
Third-party claims involve the negligence of a party that is not the worker’s direct employer. A third party’s negligence can mean that a worker may be entitled to damages and compensation beyond the workers’ compensation that they’re already entitled to. If you or a someone you know were injured in this way, you need to ignore an employer’s pressure tactics and pursue the options available for compensation.