[jvm___]

I read a story of a Latino immigrant Mom who worked the night shift cleaning a slaughterhouse every night. Wet, slick surfaces and sharp objects everywhere.

The Mom was hired as a contractor through a third party company. She fell and was injured at work, because she wasn't an employee of the bigger company she wasn't entitled to any compensation or help, just fired from the third party company which also provided no assistance.

[dragonwriter]

Given both rules of property owner liability and workplace injury liability, she almost certainly was legally entitled to compensation by one or the other, or both, companies involved for damages (including future lost wages) from the accident.

Of course, companies claiming you aren't entitled to compensation right up until you show them they are unlikely to get away with that by bringing in state authorities (if applicable) or your own lawyers is... very much a cost avoidance technique that is used often in practice. Especially against the Latino immigrant community where even legal immigrants and naturalized citizens are still operating in a culture of reluctance to engage with government or legal process, employers know this and exploit it.

[freejazz]

You are confusing her legal entitlement to recover her damages through tort, as opposed to what she might be entitled to a company that didn't have insanely regressive policies. They are similar, but not the same things!

[wombat-man]

mmm, wouldn't she be able to go after the third party company?

[jvm___]

Maybe it was that she was hired as an independent contractor so she had no recourse.

Either way, the story painted a horrible picture of the slaughterhouses who hire disadvantaged workers, and then just discard or ignore them when they are injured.

Also, I think this was in Texas which isn't exactly a worker friendly state.

[wombat-man]

Yeah, the law is one thing but actually pursuing recourse is a pain itself.

[jvm___]

A single Spanish speaking mother with kids and a broken arm is unlikely to be successful in sueing the companies and they know it.