How does your immigration status affect your worker's compensation benefits?

A recent Delaware Superior Court decision, now affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court, determined that the illegal status in the United States does not disqualify an employee from receiving worker's compensation benefits.

In that particular case, the employee had entered the country illegally. He used a false social security number and fraudulently filled out employment paperwork. The Superior Court held that providing fake documentation and false information to an employer in order to get the job and having illegal status does not disqualify the employee from receiving worker's compensation benefits for injuries sustained at working. The only way a false representation would forfeit worker's compensation benefits is if the false representation was about a physical condition, the employer relied on that false representation in hiring the individual and there was a casual connection between the false representation and the injury for which the individual seeks compensation.

The Court also found that the mere legal inability of the individual to return to the United States due to deportation and exclusion from the country is not sufficient to terminate or suspend his benefits.