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Tarango v. State Industrial Insurance Co.6/13/2001
. The Nevada Industrial Insurance Act (NIIA) states that an employee or worker includes "every person in the service of an employer under any appointment or contract of hire or apprenticeship, express or implied, oral or written, whether lawfully or unlawfully employed." Therefore, Nevada's workers' compensation laws apply to all injured workers within the state, regardless of immigration status. However, the issue before this court is not whether Tarango can receive workers' compensation under our laws; rather, we must determine whether an injured undocumented worker's access extends to the full depths of the workers' compensation scheme.
Unlike compensatory benefits which award monetary relief, vocational rehabilitation benefits are designed to return the injured worker to the workforce by helping him obtain employment within his physical abilities. We conclude that if Champion Drywall provided Tarango with modified employment, Champion Drywall would be circumventing the IRCA. Further, if SIIS provided Tarango with vocational rehabilitation benefits to obtain further training, SIIS would be violating state law and the Equal Protection Clause.
It is well settled that Congress has the power to impose alienage legislation on the states. Moreover, it is well established that immigration legislation "is unquestionably exclusively a federal power." Although the states do have some authority to deal with aliens in a manner that "mirrors federal objectives and furthers a legitimate state goal," state interests must ultimately give way to the federal government's broad power to regulate matters of alienage.
Congressional power to oversee immigration stems from a variety of sources. Primarily, the United States Constitution grants Congress the authority to "establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization." Further, Congress has plenary power with respect to both foreign relations and global commerce. These powers, coupled with the inherent authority of the sovereign to close its borders, have created an intricate scheme governing the admission and status of aliens within the United States.
The United States Supreme Court has expanded this authority further by recognizing the power as plenary, or "largely immune from judicial inquiry and interference." Specifically, the Court has stated that the "obvious need for delicate policy judgments has counseled the Judicial Branch to avoid intrusion into this field." Similarly, the Court has held that "it is the business of the political branches of the Federal Government, rather than that of either the States or the Federal Judiciary, to regulate the conditions of entry and residence of aliens." This power not only extends to the admission and naturalization of aliens, but also to the "regulation of their conduct before naturalization." As a result, we must conclude that because of the federal government's plenary power in the area of alienage, any legislation created by Congress - such as the IRCA - preempts Nevada's workers' compensation laws as those laws have an effect on aliens in this state.
The IRCA was designed by Congress to establish procedures that make it more arduous to employ unauthorized aliens, and to punish those employers who knowingly offer jobs to unauthorized aliens. The Act defines an "unauthorized alien" as an individual who is not "lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or . . . authorized to be so employed" in the United States.
Specifically, the Act precludes employers not only from hiring unauthorized aliens, but also from continuing to employ those workers once the employer becomes aware of the employee's illegal status. Violators are punished with substantial fines as well as poss
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