New York: Court Reverses Board's Decision Disqualifying Undocumented Worker From Benefits

A decision by the New York Workers' Compensation Board disqualifying an undocumented worker from additional benefits on its determination that the worker had failed to establish a connection to the labor market was error, held a state appellate court in a divided decision (3-2). Noting that the evidence suggested that the worker had applied for some 62 positions in New York City following his injury in spite of his immigration status, and noting further that the worker's back injury prevented him from working in construction--the only part of the labor market within which he had substantial experience, the court held the Board's decision that the worker was no longer connected to the labor market was not supported by the evidence.

Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., the Feature National Columnist for the LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation eNewsletter, is co-author of Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law (LexisNexis).

LexisNexis Online Subscribers: Citations below link to Lexis Advance.

See Matter of Policarpio v. Rally Restoration Corp., 2020 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7635 (Dec. 10, 2020)

See generally Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, §§ 66.03, 84.04.

Source: Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, the nation’s leading authority on workers’ compensation law

For a more detailed discussion of the case, see

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