At his blog Working Immigrants, Peter Rousmaniere has been tracking various public policy, health and work issues related to the underground economy of undocumented workers since 2006. His blog is a go-to source for research, think tank studies, major reportage and more, with a heavy focus on workers’ comp. His topical expertise is good reason for you to follow him as this issue evolves and a good starting point is his recent analysis of the impact of the Executive Order on workers’ compensation.
“The Order will force the workers’ compensation field to address issues that have been lying in plain sight for some time. After all, one-fifth of work injuries are likely sustained by a foreign-born workers, 10% by undocumented workers, whether or not they are reported.
Will the administration’s policy cause a jump in claims? Will it close down grey market labor abuses or open up a Pandora’s box? Will it make it easier to enforce work safety standards or sow confusion?”
His analysis addresses the states that will see the greatest effect:
“According to the Pew Hispanic Center, undocumented workers form the highest share of workforces in Nevada (10%), California (9.7%), Texas (9%) and New Jersey (8.6%). California has the largest number of people in the labor force who are unauthorized immigrants (1.85 million), followed by Texas (1.1 million), Florida (600,000) and New York (450,000.).”
…as well as the industry segments that will be most affected:
Major sectors with undocumented worker employment are farming, construction, hospitality, and institutional (building and grounds maintenance). About four out of every 10 farm workers are undocumented, hence the expectation, of which we will hear more, that providing work rights to these workers will cause food prices (especially fresh produce) to increase. However, farming’s size is dwarfed by the combined size of these other sectors, in which an average 12% of workers are illegal.
Take construction. A fifth to one quarter of lost-time compensable injuries sustained by all undocumented workers are sustained in construction. The typical image of the illegal construction worker is the low skilled laborer. About a fifth of them are estimated to be unauthorized. But a fair number of painters and other skilled workers are also illegal.
Take hospitality, which includes lodging and restaurants. About 20%-25% of room cleaners and cooks are undocumented workers.
For every 10 lost-time compensable injuries sustained by undocumented workers, about five of them take occur in either construction or hospitality. Maybe only one takes place in farming.
He also discusses the potential impact on claims and on employers and insurers.
Here are other related recent blog posts from Working Immigrants:
Arguments pro and con re legality of Executive Actions
Pew Hispanic Center’s estimates for the Executive Action
Some specifics about the Obama Administration’s “Executive Actions”
How Obama devised his Executive Order
Reagan and Bush Sr. used executive orders for immigrants
Chronology of recent news about Executive Orders to come
