First DCA: Fake Social Security Number Used to Obtain Employment Not a Bar to WC Benefits
I wrote here about whether an employee who knowingly presents false evidence of his identity to his employer in obtaining employment, thereby violating §440.105(4)(b)9, Fla. Stat., also thereby forfeits his right to workers' compensation benefits if he is injured in a subsequent on-the-job accident. The authors of this article in the October 2007 edition of the Florida Bar Journal argued that he should.
"Not so fast," said the First DCA in Matrix Employee Leasing v. Hernandez, decided on 3/10/2008. The Court concluded that before an employee's benefits may be forfeited, §440.09(4)(a), Fla. Stat., requires that the false statement of identity must have been presented "for the purpose of securing workers' compensation benefits."
