HDV Construction Systems, Inc. v. Aragon

In this workers’ compensation case, the Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) found that the Employer knew or should have known that Claimant (its employee), an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was without the legal right to work in the United States. The JCC further found that notwithstanding this knowledge, the Employer hired and continued to unlawfully employ Claimant, until he was injured in a significant workplace accident. After Claimant suffered injury, the Employer and its workers’ compensation carrier (collectively the E/C) attempted to assert, as a defensive matter, Claimant’s illegal…