Job Injuries and LEP Workers
Tampa Bay has one of the largest percentages of Limited English Proficiency individuals in the nation. LEP usually means the person speaks a language other than English at home, and the person’s English skills are self-described as average or below average. For various reasons, the workplace injury rate for LEP workers is almost twice as high as the injury rate for native English speaking-workers. More on that below.
People are people. Regardless of their ethnicity or national origin, workplace injuries affect them in the same way. Also, regardless of resident status or anything else, a Tampa workers’ compensation lawyer can obtain life-changing benefits for injured workers. However, the workers’ compensation process is often long and frustrating. Only those victims who persevere to the end receive maximum compensation.
LEP Issues
The typical LEP worker is a Spanish-speaking construction worker. These individuals are very hard workers, but because of the language barrier, their understanding of their jobs is limited. There’s a cultural barrier as well. The same word or phrase could have drastically different meanings in Spanish and English.
We should also say that not everyone from a predominantly-Hispanic country speaks Spanish. Ouacha, a Mexican state on the Caribbean shore, is a good example. Many people in this area speak a North American Indian language. So, when they come to America, they don’t speak English and they don’t understand Spanish translations.
On a related note, employers cannot rely on translators. Many times, important words or phrases get lost in translation.
Furthermore, the world is much bigger than the United States and Mexico. Foreign-born workers include legally admitted immigrants, refugees, undocumented immigrants, and temporary residents, such as students and temporary workers, from all over the world.
Complete instructions are critical at construction sites and all other job sites. Bosses must train employees in the use of safety equipment. They cannot assume the worker knows how to use a safety harness or other safety equipment, even if the worker says s/he has such competence.
Additionally, complete instructions include stressing to workers the need to use safety equipment. Without such emphasis, many workers conclude that safety equipment is optional.
Workers’ Comp Benefits
LEP workers and their families, like most other workers and their families, usually live hand to mouth. So a few weeks without a paycheck is financially devastating.
Workers’ comp usually pays two-thirds of the worker’s average weekly wage (AWW) for the duration of a temporary or permanent disability. Significantly, the AWW includes regular and irregular compensation, such as performance bonuses and overtime opportunities.
Workers’ comp benefits also include payment of all reasonably necessary medical bills. This comprehensive benefit begins with emergency transportation to a hospital and ends on the last day of physical therapy.
Additionally, some job injury victims can file civil claims and obtain additional compensation for their emotional distress and other noneconomic losses. In many cases, the employer cannot use some key legal defenses. So, once again in many of these cases, it’s easier for a lawyer to prove negligence, or a lack of care.
Reach Out to a Thorough Hillsborough County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to important financial benefits. For a confidential consultation with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer in Tampa, contact Kobal Law. Virtual, home, and hospital visits are available.
Source:
bls.gov/spotlight/2023/workplace-fatalities-among-foreign-born-hispanic-workers/
