Gomez v. F & T International LLC
This case involves two undocumented construction workers, Gomez and Livicura, who were injured in a demolition accident on February 4, 2005. The property owner, F & T Int’l (Flushing, New York) LLC, and the general contractor, Top 8 Construction Corp., moved to compel further depositions of the plaintiffs regarding their immigration status and income tax returns to mitigate lost wage claims. The court, citing Balbuena v IDR Realty LLC, denied the defendants' motion, ruling that a worker's alien status is irrelevant for lost wage claims when no false documents were used. The court emphasized that the onus of verifying work authorization lies with the employer, not the employee, and highlighted the disingenuousness of employers raising immigration status concerns only after an injury, deeming it an attempt to intimidate plaintiffs.