Rehearing ordered over illegal worker’s disability benefits

(AP) – Delaware’s Supreme Court says a state panel erred in concluding that a woman who was injured on the job remained entitled to disability benefits because she is in the country illegally and has been unable to find other work.

In an opinion issued Tuesday, the justices said a person’s status as an undocumented worker is not relevant in determining whether she is presumed to be a “displaced worker.”
 
The justices reversed a Superior Court ruling that upheld the state Industrial Accident Board’s determination last year in favor of Magdalena Guardado. The board must now conduct a new hearing.
 
Guardado injured her wrist in 2010 while working at Roos Foods, a now-defunct cheese company, and was awarded total disability benefits.