Illegal Immigrants Covered by Worker Compensation in Maryland

By Matt Green

Published on September 13, 2005

On Sept. 12, the Court of Appeals voted 6-1 to cover undocumented workers under the state's worker compensation laws. The majority of judges said foreigners lacking work permits should be protected, since state laws never say they should be excluded.

The majority opinion by Chief Judge Robert Bell says the law should be "construed as liberally in favor of injured employees." The opinion also said, "Clear and unambiguous language of (the law) encompasses undocumented aliens."

In his dissent, Judge Glenn T. Harrell said the majority ignored a section of the law specifying that it covers minors even if they are illegal employees. He said that by specifically granting coverage to illegally employed minors, the legislature implied that illegally employed adults aren't covered.

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