Illegal workers

Studies have shown that there are about 8 million immigrants working in the U.S. with false or no papers, and, surprisingly to me, it seems that they’re more likely to get hurt or killed on the job than other workers. But almost all 50 states, including Florida, have given these workers the right to receive workers’ comp. 

I guess Florida has a real thing about immigrant workers. They have made it a crime to file a workers’ comp claim using false identification. This has been good for insurance companies as they often report these workers to the state, thereby not having to pay for injured immigrant workers’ lost wages and medical care. 

Workers have been charged with felony workers’ comp fraud even though their injuries are real and happened on the job. Immigrants can be charged with workers’ comp fraud even if they’ve never been injured or filed a claim because legislators also made it illegal to use a fake ID to get a job. In many cases, the state’s insurance fraud unit has conducted unusual sweeps of work sites, arresting a dozen employees for workers’ comp fraud after merely checking their Social Security numbers.