Immigrants make up majority of the construction workforce across the nation, but in some cases an employer will try to wrongfully take advantage of an employee due to their legal status. As a result, undocumented immigrants often work in the most dangerous conditions and are more likely to experience injuries while working.

However, employers can be held liable for any injuries that their employees have suffered as a result of the employer’s failure to provide a safe working environment, regardless of their employee’s immigration status or union membership.

At the Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm, our New York work injury lawyers have over 40 years of experience representing those who have been wrongfully injured.

If you or a loved one have been injured as a result of unsafe working conditions, contact the Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm today for a free, strictly confidential consultation.

Let our family help yours.

Undocumented Construction Workers Vulnerable to Unsafe Working Conditions

Due to unsafe living conditions or poor economic opportunities in their home country, a large majority of immigrants migrate to the United States in the hopes of finding better economic, living, and educational opportunities for both themselves and their family. Immigrants make up a large percentage of the population in New York and play an important role in our community.

Immigrants in New York represent over half of the construction workforce in the city, over twice the national average. Notably, the majority of immigrant construction workers are also undocumented, and unfortunately some employers may try to take advantage of an employee’s legal status to justify placing that person in an unsafe and dangerous work environment.

According to the Center for Migration Studies, undocumented immigrants in the construction industry are especially vulnerable to exploitation and dangerous working conditions due to lack of employment authorization, limited English proficiency, insufficient training opportunities, and racial discrimination.

As a result of these additional obstacles, undocumented immigrants are more likely to experience serious injuries while working, due to:

• Failure to provide proper safety gear
• Exposure to dangerous chemicals without proper protection and ventilation
• Unsafe work environment causing serious injury
• Serious electrocution or burn injuries
• Loose debris causing serious injury or fatality
• Employee fall due to improper safeguarding

“Once an employer makes the conscientious decision to hire a person to work for them, that person’s immigration status is irrelevant, and the employer has to ensure that the worker is accorded all the protection that the law affords any worker. Accidents occur, and that is part of life; however, when a worker gets injured as a result of the callousness of the employer flouting the laws promulgated to protect workers then that employer has to be held to account.” – Anthony Pagan, Esq.

New York Labor Law §200, §240(1), §241(6) Protects Undocumented Workers in Construction Site Accidents

New York State has some of the strongest construction labor laws in the country to ensure that employees are kept safe while working. Specifically, New York State Labor Law Sections §200, §240(1), and §241(6) allow employees to hold their employers strictly liable in cases involving construction site accidents.

Importantly, New York Labor Law establishes when a construction site employer may be held liable for an injury as a result of accident:

Labor Law §200: An employer can be held liable if an employee was injured due to employer negligence.

Labor Law §240(1): An employer can be held liable if their employee suffered an injury due to a violation of rules safeguarding elevated scaffolding/objects (also referred to as Scaffolding law).

Labor Law §241(6): An employer can be held liable if their employee suffered an injury due to a violation of a specific rule established in New York Industrial Code 23.

Generally speaking, this means that employers engaged in building, construction, or demolition work must provide:

• Reasonable and adequate safety measures to prevent injury
• Guarding dangerous machinery
• Safe flooring on the construction site
• Safe elevators and shafts that are properly guarded
• Proper and safe use of scaffolding

Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm has a History of Representing Wrongfully Injured Undocumented Construction Workers

The construction industry is one of the most dangerous industries due to the fact that work accidents can cause serious injury, and in some cases may be fatal. In the last few years, New York City has experienced an increasing amount of construction activity across the 5 boroughs, which means that more people are being employed in the construction workforce.

Although there have been significant strides in construction safety measures to protect employees, there is still a significant number of construction site related injuries.

At the Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm, we have over 40 years of history representing wrongfully injured clients, including two noteworthy cases where undocumented immigrants were wrongfully put at risk:

• A young mother from Ecuador’s hand was amputated while cleaning an industrial meat blender. Our client was directed to remove guards over the meat blender’s discharge doors to clean an area of the machine. While cleaning the machine with a pressurized hose, the hose was caught in the blender and pulled her hand into the steel blades. As a result, her hand was instantly severed from her arm.
• Three young recent immigrants to New York sustained permanent injuries during a workplace fire in the Bronx. While performing work in an enclosed tank, our clients were instructed to use highly flammable waterproofing materials without verifying that the tank had proper ventilation. As a result, the waterproofing material caught on fire, which caused severe permeant and debilitating physical injuries including second- and third-degree burns.

Everyone is entitled to a safe working environment, and it is New York’s responsibility to ensure that undocumented immigrants are not taken advantage of and wrongfully put at risk due to their legal status.

If you or a loved one have experienced a serious injury while working on a construction site, contact the Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm today for a free consultation.

The experienced New York Personal Injury Attorneys at the Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm will tirelessly investigate your case and ensure that you and your family will receive justice. Our diverse team of attorneys will ensure that you and your family feel comfortable throughout the process and will answer any questions or concerns along the way.

We can help when the unimaginable happens.