Florida Bill Seeks to Stop Arrests of Injured Immigrant Workers
The bill follows an investigation by ProPublica and NPR, which found that insurance companies were turning in unauthorized immigrants who were injured on the job.
by Michael Grabell, ProPublica, and Howard Berkes, NPR Feb. 6, 3:45 p.m. EST
A new bill under consideration by Florida lawmakers would stop insurance companies from dodging payouts by aiding in the arrest and deportation of unauthorized immigrants who are injured on the job.
Legislators and advocates have been pushing for the measure since last summer when ProPublica and NPR documented more than 130 cases in which immigrants who had suffered legitimate workplace injuries were flagged to law enforcement agencies by their employers’ insurers. The workers faced felony fraud charges for using a fake ID when they sought medical care. Meanwhile, the insurers often avoided paying the workers’ compensation benefits legally due to all employees injured at work.
Some workers were detained by federal immigration agents and deported without getting proper medical treatment for serious injuries.
The practice stems from a provision in a 2003 workers’ comp law that made it a crime to file a claim using false identification. Many injured immigrants never pursued compensation themselves, ProPublica and NPR found. Instead, insurers turned them in after they sought treatment, and their employers transmitted paperwork containing the Social Security number they’d used to get hired.
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https://www.propublica.org/article/florida-bill-seeks-to-stop-arrests-of-injured-immigrant-workers