For the first time ever, the Fujian Ethnic Association organized a free legal consultation session in Chinatown. The session attracted many Fujianese immigrants who came to the venue or called in to seek legal advice. Many of them inquired about workplace injury and workers’ compensation.

Yue Dao, the attorney in charge of answering the questions, reminded the new immigrants not to be afraid about seeking legal assistance merely because of their immigration status. He said that legal recourses and legal status were independent of each other.

Mr. Cheng, a Fujianese who worked at a Chinese restaurant, came to the venue to seek consultation. According to Cheng, an employee at his restaurant who was injured in a car accident when he was making a delivery for the restaurant, received hospital treatment for a month. After he was released, he hired a lawyer to seek compensation from his employer for the work injury. Because the restaurant did not have work injury compensation insurance, Cheng was facing the harsh financial reality of being personally liable for the situation.

According to Dao, New York state laws require employers to purchase work injury insurance for their employees. New York state has a fund for injured workers to pay for medical treatment and wage compensation, but afterward, it will pursue employers for the cost.

Even after a company is shut down, the private assets of the employers can still be frozen. Thus, for employers, work injury insurance i indispensable, and it could be charged as an operation expense. However, many employers buy the non-mandatory accident insurance and neglect to buy the work injury insurance, which could result in harm for both the employers and employees.

Mr. Lin, a new immigrant from Fuzhou, worked at a woodshop. He had an accident, and four of his fingers were cut off, which resulted in permanent damage. His employer’s insurance company paid for the medical fee and the $600 monthly fee. However, Lin was seeking higher compensation from his employer.

In analyzing his documents, Dao believed that Mr. Lin’s employer had the right to reject his request. Because his income tax indicated that his monthly wage was $600, he got the reasonable compensation. According to the law, the employers and insurance company had to pay for two-thirds of the wage for the injured employees.

Dao said that some Chinese companies participate in tax evasion. They list their employees’ wages on paper as lower than the actual wages they were being paid. However, since the court uses income tax forms to decide how compensation to award, employees find it difficult to prove their actual wages. This practice might lead to the Internal Revenue Service pursuing employers charges for tax evasion.

Another Fujianese man said that he had not lived with his wife for a long time, and that his relatives had told him that constituted divorce. Dao clarified that for whatever reason, the only way to get a legal divorce was to file the proper papers with the court. Dao said that many new immigrants, after coming to the United States, are unable to maintain ties with their family in China and often try to form new families in the United States. However, they must do so with the proper paperwork, because otherwise they would be committing polygamy.

According to New York State law, even if a husband and wife are separated, they must agree to separate and seek a divorce a year later.