Law Commons^™

Workers' Compensation And Hoffman Plastic: Pandora's Undocumented Box, Oliver Beatty

Oliver T Beatty

The focus of this Comment is whether Hoffman Plastic, which was decided in regard to unionization and back pay, is properly applied when its rationale is utilized in litigation across the country by employers to preclude workers' compensation payments to injured undocumented workers. This Comment examines the rationale and policy from courts across the nation in determining whether Hoffman Plastic belongs in workers' compensation cases, when such an application has serious consequences for workplace safety and state police power. Part I of this Comment discusses the historical background of federal immigration and labor statutes examined in the Hoffman Plastic decision. …