Work Authorization Documents

Background

In Coque, Luis Coque was injured on a construction work site after he fell from a makeshift scaffold. He incurred severe injuries that rendered him a paraplegic. Thereafter, Coque commenced an action against his employer and several other defendants, asserting violations of New York State Labor Law, as well as claims of common law negligence. Defendants interposed a number of affirmative defenses including the fact that the plaintiff was an illegal alien and, therefore, was not entitled to recover any lost wages. Apparently, when the plaintiff had applied for employment, he had submitted only a Social Security card and no other documentation supporting his ability to work lawfully in the United States. As a matter of law, a Social Security card by itself is insufficient proof of worker eligibility. Nonetheless, the lower court denied defendants' motions, finding that there was a question of fact as to whether the plaintiff had actually obtained his employment by submitting false documentation. The case then proceeded to trial, and the plaintiff admitted that he was, in fact, an undocumented worker and that he had submitted a fraudulent Social Security card at the time he was hired. The jury issued a verdict in favor of the plaintiff and awarded him $42,000 for lost wages, $60,000 for future lost wages, $500,000 for past pain and suffering, $1,250,000 for future pain and suffering, $585,354 for past medical expenses and $863,000 for future medical expenses.