Injured Day Laborer Claims in New York: Your Rights.
A "day laborer" is defined as a worker who performs several types of unskilled work for daily wages. Day laborers may be hired to help complete construction projects that are behind schedule or when the employer is trying to finish a project without hiring higher paid employees. Day laborers are typically paid low wages, often in cash. As these workers are not classified as employees, any injuries sustained on the job may not be covered by workers' compensation insurance, unless the day laborer was hired through a temp agency that covers them with worker's comp insurance.
Can an Injured Day Laborer Get Compensation for Injuries?
While a day laborer may not be classified as an employee, they are not immune to being injured on the job. After an injury, there are three general ways they can pursue compensation for injuries, illnesses, and conditions:
- Workers' comp insurance: If a temp agency provided the worker, the agency might have workers' compensation insurance. Benefits could be pursued through their insurance.
- Labor laws in New York: All laborers working in New York have rights under state and city labor laws. When an employer fails to ensure workers are protected by safety measures to reduce the risk of injury or illness, the laws may have been violated, and a day laborer may be owed compensation.
- Filing an injury lawsuit: If a day laborer has suffered severe health problems due to toxic exposure or was injured on the job, a lawsuit can be filed against the property owner, manager, a developer, or other party responsible for the job.
Many day laborers have concerns about the immigration authorities and are fearful about reporting an illness, injury, or condition. Your immigration status does not impact your coverage under the law. You have the right to be compensated for all damages, whether you have legal status in the USA or not.
What Are Your Rights?
An employer is responsible for your medical treatment, lost wages, vocational training, or for families who have lost a loved one, survivor benefits. These cases may be more complex than others, but with the assistance of an experienced NYC day laborer accident lawyer, can be resolved. Some employers violate the law by hiring day laborers and then delaying payment, or not paying them the wages due, or the wages are lower than allowed under the law.
You have the right to be paid on time at fair rates, and the right to be compensated for a job-related injury. It is, however, necessary to identify who is liable, and how to move forward to seek compensation – that's when the attorneys at Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP could get involved. The first step is a free case consultation.
Types of Day Laborers in NYC
Day laborers are hired in high numbers in New York. These day laborers are frequently hired for the following types of jobs:
- Demolition jobs
- Painting
- Carpet installation
- Construction jobs of diverse types
- Repairs, maintenance
- Moving
- Cleanups
- Loading, unloading trucks
- General labor
Why Choose Our NY Work Injury Attorneys?
In cases of day laborer injuries in New York, you want the right lawyer fighting for you. At Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP, we have won millions of dollars in injury cases. We are listed in the Best Lawyers directory, and rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating possible from the premier law firm rating service in the USA.
Injured while working as a day laborer? We urge you to contact our firm for a free case evaluation. Our New York day laborer injury attorneys are highly-respected, dedicated, and among the leading injury law firms in NYC. We take our responsibilities to our clients very seriously and understand that the need for compensation is an urgent matter that deserves our full attention.
Contact us today at (212) 986-7353 to speak with us in a free case evaluation.