You were hurt at work. You do not have legal status. Someone has told you that filing makes you a target, or that you are not entitled to anything anyway, and you are trying to decide whether to say nothing and hope the injury heals.
This page is written to give you the real answer rather than a comfortable one. Some of it is good news. Some of it is not, and you should have both before you decide.
You are entitled to benefits
New York’s highest courts have settled this. An injured worker’s status as an undocumented immigrant does not, by itself, bar an award of workers’ compensation benefits.
The leading case is worth knowing because the facts were bad. The worker had come to New York on a visa that did not permit employment. When it expired he stayed. He borrowed another man’s driver’s license and Social Security card and used that identity to get the job, and he was working under that assumed name when he was injured. His employer argued that federal immigration law should override the state compensation system entirely.
He won. The court found no conflict between federal immigration law and a state’s requirement that workplaces be safe and injured workers be compensated. If that claimant’s benefits survived, the argument that status alone defeats a claim does not hold.
One clarification, because employers raise it. This right comes from the courts rather than from a sentence in the statute saying so. That makes it no less real — it is binding law, and it has been for many years.
What you can claim
The ordinary benefits of a New York claim: authorized medical treatment for the injury, wage replacement while you cannot work, an award for permanent loss of use of a limb, and death benefits for a family if a worker is killed.
Two limits are worth stating plainly.
Vocational rehabilitation is not available. New York’s highest court has held that the additional compensation tied to participation in a rehabilitation program does not reach a worker who cannot lawfully be employed, because no such program is open to them. That is a genuine exclusion and you should not be told otherwise.
Death benefits for family living abroad are narrower. Where a worker is killed and the dependents live outside the United States, the statute restricts who can receive benefits — a spouse and children, or parents who were being supported. Relatives who would qualify if they lived here may not qualify from abroad. For a worker supporting family in another country, that is a serious difference and it is almost never mentioned.
What we can tell you about privacy, and what we cannot
This is the question people actually want answered, and it deserves a careful answer rather than reassurance.
What is verifiable and favorable: the claim form itself states that providing a Social Security number is voluntary, and that not providing one will not result in your claim being denied or your benefits being reduced. You do not need a Social Security number to file. Hearings are now conducted virtually as a matter of course, so pursuing a claim does not ordinarily require you to appear at a government building.
What we will not tell you is that your information can never reach anyone. That would be an easy thing to say and we cannot support it. Compensation records are confidential, but the law permits disclosure in defined circumstances, including in response to a subpoena. And the practical exposure in most cases is not the Board at all — it is your employer and their insurance company, who already know who you are, and who are not bound by the rules that govern the agency.
So the honest position is this: the system is not designed to find you, the Board does not exist to enforce immigration law, most claims are resolved without any of this arising — and nobody can promise you a guarantee. Anyone who offers you one is selling something.
What we can do is discuss your specific situation honestly before you file anything, so that the decision is yours and it is an informed one. That conversation is free and it commits you to nothing.
If your employer threatens you
It is against the law in New York for an employer to fire you, or discriminate against you, because you filed a workers’ compensation claim or testified in one. That protection is written into the compensation statute and it is not conditioned on your immigration status.
It has its own procedure and its own deadline, separate from the injury claim, so a threat or a firing is something to raise immediately rather than mention months later.
A word about the threat itself, since it is usually the reason people do not call. “File and I will report you” is a common thing for a bad employer to say, and it is said precisely because it works. It is also an admission that they expect the claim to succeed.
One area where status can matter
If you have a partial disability and have not yet been found permanently disabled, New York generally expects an injured worker to show they are attached to the labor market — looking for work within their restrictions. For a worker who cannot lawfully be hired, that requirement sits awkwardly, and carriers do argue it.
It is an argument that has been answered successfully, and it is not answered by accident. It is also confined to the period before classification; after a permanent partial disability is established, the ongoing requirement no longer applies. It is one more reason to have somebody handling the claim who knows the argument is coming.
Frequently asked questions
I don’t have a Social Security number. Can I still file?
Yes. The claim form states that giving a Social Security number is voluntary and that withholding it will not cause your claim to be denied or your benefits reduced.
I used someone else’s documents to get the job. Does that end it?
Not automatically — those were close to the facts of the leading New York case, and the worker still received benefits. Tell your lawyer the whole situation at the first meeting rather than letting it surface later, because how it is handled matters and surprises are what damage cases.
My boss says he’ll call immigration if I file.
Retaliating against an employee for filing a claim is unlawful in New York, with its own procedure and its own deadline. Write down what was said, when, and who heard it, and raise it right away.
Do I have to go to a courthouse or a government office?
Workers’ compensation hearings in New York are held virtually as standard practice. You would ordinarily attend by video rather than in person.
Was I even an employee? I was paid in cash.
Being paid in cash does not decide it, and neither does what anyone called you. Whether you were an employee turns on the reality of the work and how much control the business had. Raise it early — it affects how the claim is built.
Can we talk before I decide anything?
Yes, and that is the right order. Nothing is filed because you called. A consultation costs nothing and does not commit you to bringing a claim.
Talk to us
If you were hurt at work in Staten Island or Brooklyn and your status is why you have not called anyone, call and ask your questions before deciding. We will tell you what we can support and what we cannot.
Call 718.701.2776 (toll-free: 800.310.5520) or contact us. Consultations are free and there is no fee unless you win.
More on these claims
- Workers’ compensation — how a New York claim works from the beginning.
- Construction accidents — and why a construction injury can involve more than one claim.
- Labor market attachment — the requirement discussed above.
- Denied claims and appeals — if a claim has already been refused.
Attorney Advertising. This page is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, and nothing here is advice about immigration law. No attorney-client relationship is formed by reading this page or submitting an inquiry. This page states New York law as of September 2026.