I was honored to be asked to teach a class at the Urban Justice Center, on workers’ compensation, personal injury, and wages & hours laws. I was assisted by my Chief Paralegal, Elizabeth Rios. The theme of my class was “No Fear!” Too often, workers who have had accidents on the job, who have fallen from scaffolds or ladders, or on construction sites or doing demolition, or who have had other accidents, are intimidated by their bosses into fear of filing workers compensation and personal injury cases. The same goes for men and women who are victims of wage theft, whose bosses refuse to pay legal overtime, or minimum wage, or who bully and intimidate them with other wage abuses.
But New York’s working men and women, whether documented or undocumented, whether fluent in English or only in Spanish–they all have rights, and must learn not to be intimidated by employers who use illegal and immoral scare tactics.
Whether you injure your back, or neck, or shoulders or knees; whether you need surgery or medical treatment or physical therapy; whether you are disabled from working, or must work, but work in pain–if you are injured on the job you have every right to bring a workers’ compensation case, and sometimes also a personal injury case. Regardless of your job: construction worker, demolition, restaurant or car wash or office worker or health care…whether you work with scaffolds or ladders or with construction or demolition materials, or whether you work in an office–you should never be afraid to demand your rights to a legal wage, and legal overtime, and to full benefits under the workers’ compensation and personal injury and wage & hours laws. It is a pleasure and honor to be able to teach the workers of New York their rights.