Managing Member Alan Brackett was recently interviewed for the article “No comp for undocumented workers risks perils: Legal experts” that was published in Business Insurance magazine.
Alan weighed in as a legal expert on how bills in two states would restrict or restructure workers compensation benefits based on immigration status. As noted in the article:
“The case law under the Longshore Act has always been: If they’re your employee, you owe them benefits,” Mr. Brackett said. After major Gulf Coast hurricanes, he noted, shipyards and maritime employers saw an influx of undocumented workers and a corresponding rise in claims under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.
The Florida bill, placing responsibility on employers that fail to verify authorization, is “interesting,” Mr. Brackett said, but the approach still could become “very messy,” particularly if employers argue they paid premiums expecting coverage.
Alan recently covered this topic in the article, “Are undocumented workers entitled to workers’ compensation benefits?” that he co-authored with associate Noah Borer for Reuters Legal News and Westlaw Today.
No comp for undocumented workers risks perils: Legal experts
by Louise Esola, February 4, 2026
Bills in two states would restrict or restructure workers compensation benefits based on immigration status, reopening long-running debates over the scope of the workers comp “grand bargain” and raising new legal and coverage questions for employers and insurers.
Florida and New Jersey lawmakers introduced bills last month that would tighten eligibility for certain workers compensation benefits for undocumented workers or shift liability away from insurers. Similar proposals have surfaced periodically over the past decade in other states, but few have advanced into law.