THE BENEFITS THAT THEY ARE ENTITLED TO: The new bill, introduced by state Sen. Gary Farmer, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat, would eliminate the false identity provision and clarify the statute so that it applies only to people who commit traditional workers' comp fraud, such as lying about injuries or eligibility for benefits.
As is the case in nearly every state, all Florida workers — including unauthorized immigrants — are entitled to medical care and lost wages through their employers' workers' comp insurance.
"We have a whole separate system to deal with immigration status," Farmer said. "All of that is neither here nor there. It comes down to the fact that these folks were doing their job, got hurt while they were doing their job, and the separate issue of immigration status shouldn't be used to take away the benefits that they're entitled to."