Employers concerned about incurring fines or criminal liability for hiring undocumented workers now face a new challenge: large healthcare payouts and contract litigation when stop loss carriers refuse to honor claims arising from an undocumented employee’s policy. In a recent case before a U.S. District California Court, a small business sued its stop-loss carrier to compel payment of medical expenses resulting from the care of an undocumented worker’s U.S. citizen children. Although the Court held against the stop-loss carrier in this instance, companies operating in states without laws that explicitly protect undocumented workers may face a very different outcome if their employees turn out to be undocumented despite presenting a reasonably valid work authorization document during the Form I-9 process.
W. Barry Nixon is the COO, PreemploymentDirectory.com the leading background screening information portal and online worldwide directory of professional background screening firms and Suppliers to the background screening industry. He co-authored the landmark book, Background Screening & Investigations: Managing Hiring Risk from the HR and Security Perspective. He also is the publisher of award winning newsletters, The Background Buzz and The Global Background Screener, and the author of the Background Checks column in PI Magazine.
In addition, Barry is a past recipient of the elite ‘Top 25 Influential People in Security’ by Security Magazine and past Co-Chair, International Committee for the National Association for Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS). He currently serves as a Global Ambassador for NAPBS.
You can contact Barry at 1-949-770-5264 or online at wbnixon@preemploymentdirectory.com