He passed E-Verify with a stranger's Social Security number. Then the trench gave way
A worker used a fake identity to land his job. Then a trench collapsed on him. A Tennessee panel says his benefits stand.
A Tennessee panel has upheld an order granting medical benefits to a laborer who used someone else's identity to get hired, then was seriously hurt on the job - a ruling that tests how far an employer's fraud defense can reach.
The Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation Appeals Board issued its decision on June 29, 2026. The worker had applied to MG Dyess, Inc. using another real person's name, date of birth, address and Social Security number. The employer ran that identity through E-Verify, which confirmed the named person was cleared to work, according to the opinion. The worker was hired.
On March 17, 2025, a trench he was working in collapsed, burying him to the shoulders in mud and pinning his chest against a pipe. A coworker pulled him out. He was diagnosed with four broken ribs, and later with a knee tear and a herniated disc.
When he sought benefits, the employer refused, pointing to his "misrepresentation of identity and fraud." Its argument: it never would have hired him without the false identity, so no valid contract of hire existed - and no contract means no workers' comp.
The Board rejected that. Tennessee's statute, it noted, defines an employee as any person "whether lawfully or unlawfully employed" under a contract of hire. The employer was plainly...
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