The League of Iowa Human & Civil Rights Agencies

The Nebraska Court of Appeals pushed a hot button when it ruled earlier this month that an illegal immigrant was entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Predictably, the ruling drew scores of comments on the Journal Star’s Web site. The Journal Star editorial board believes the ruling was correctly and properly based on state law. Given current language in state statutes, it’s difficult to see how the Worker Compensation Court and the appellate court could have reached any other conclusion. One important effect of the ruling is to encourage employers to make workplaces safer.

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