ILLEGAL ALIEN LEGISLATION STATUS The Michigan Court of Appeals’ opinions in Sanchez v Eagle Alloy, Inc., and Vasquez v Eagle Alloy, Inc., 254 Mich App 651, 658 NW 2nd 510, appeal granted 469 Mich 955, 671 NW 2nd 874 (2003), vacated, application denied 471 Mich 851, 684 NW 2nd 342 (2004), were finalized on July 23, 2004, when the Michigan Supreme Court vacated its previous grant of leave to appeal (in other words, deciding not to review the cases). The Court of Appeals had held that, once it was discovered that the employees were undocumented illegal aliens, they could no longer legally work and, therefore, were no longer entitled to weekly wage loss benefits. The Court reasoned that, by working without proper legal authorization, the employees were committing a crime under a Federal Law, the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), and were, therefore, barred from receiving wage loss benefits under MCL 418.361(1). MCL 418.361(1) provides that, “an employer shall not be liable for compensation . . . for such periods of time that the employee is unable to obtain or perform work because of imprisonment or commission of a crime.” On December 11, 2007, Representative Steve Tobocman and Senator Hansen Clark introduced legislation apparently intended to nullify the Court of Appeals’ decision in Sanchez and Vasquez. The bill proposed to amend §361 of the workers’ disability compensation act (MCL 418.361), adding the following language at the end of subsection (1): As used in this subsection “commission of a crime” does not include an alien’s working without employment authorization or an alien’s use of false documents to obtain employment or to seek work. Neither bill ever advanced out of committee. Representative David Agema, on February 5, 2009, introduced another bill, pertaining to illegal aliens. The bill seeks to amend MCL 418.141 and 418.230, and to add a new section, MCL 418.307. The bill provides an absolute defense to employee actions against an employer for workers’ compensation benefits or for personal injury arising out of the employer's negligence or gross negligence if the employee meets all three of the following criteria: (1) The employee is an undocumented alien who is not permitted to work in the United States under federal law; (2) The employee presented fraudulent identification to the employer; and (3) The employer did not know and had no reason to believe that the employee was not permitted to work in the United States. The bill would also require that officers or employees of the Workers’ Compensation Agency immediately report to federal authorities workers’ compensation claims filed by undocumented aliens. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Judiciary. In summary, the bill precludes illegal aliens from recovering workers’ compensation benefits or personal injury damages due to an employer’s negligence or gross negligence.