The League of Iowa Human & Civil Rights Agencies

An illegal immigrant injured on the job is entitled to state worker compensation benefits, according to a Nebraska Court of Appeals decision released Tuesday. Odilon Visoso was injured May 9, 2006, at Cargill in Schuyler when a 100-pound slab of meat fell from a hook and hit the back of his head, neck and shoulder. Visoso, who used the name Adam Rodriguez, continued to work at Cargill on light duty until surgery in early October 2008. The company fired him late that same month because he was an illegal worker. The appellate court upheld a Worker Compensation Court decision that the worker compensation law covers all employees injured on the job -- even those in the country illegally.

[more]