New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
‘We also have rights’
Injured New Haven migrant worker disputes eviction from employer’s housing
NEW HAVEN — An advocacy group has rallied around a Guatemalan man who came to New Haven on a work visa and is now in a legal dispute with his employer after he says he was injured on the job.
The worker, Edgar Becerra, said he was injured while working for MDF Painting & Power Washing and then fired. He and another worker are now being evicted from a property also owned by their employer, MDF President Mark DeFrancesco, which Becerra said is being done as a retaliation for the accidents.
Joshua Brown, DeFrancesco’s attorney, said Becerra “was never fired; he simply ceased working.”
Though court documents show the first eviction was blocked by a judge, the attorneys said another eviction case has been put into motion.
“We want companies to realize that just as we’re good for work, to create economic income for them with a dignified job, we also have rights, which we’re fighting for,” Becerra said in an interview in Spanish at a recent rally outside of the business’ Branford office. “We’re not fighting for something that isn’t logical.”
Immigrant rights organization Unidad Latina en Acción joined him at the rally, where they also called for the company to compensate Becerra and pay for his medical treatment.
Becerra said that as an injured worker fired by the company, he wants the company to abide by the law.
Both Becerra and another worker, Josue Mauricio Arana, were served eviction notices in November.
“The eviction case, like so many others, is simply about Mr. Becerra and Mr. Arana residing (and continuing to reside) without paying for their occupancy of the owners’ property and at the owners’ expense,” Brown said.
The eviction case brought by DeFrancesco, which a judge ultimately blocked, hinged on the oral, week-to-week lease agreement between employer and employee. The judge concluded that the workers are no longer under a lease agreement and are continuing to occupy the premises without payment, which they do not have a right to do, and that they must be able to pay for use of the
premises.
But, the judge found Brown’s “cause of action” for eviction not valid, leaving an opportunity for him to file again but with a different legal avenue. Brown said he “expects to file a new Summary Process action soon.”
“This case is mainly about holding an employer accountable, and employers treating their employees, especially employees that belong to a vulnerable population, with dignity and respect,” said Becerra’s lawyer, Tyrese Ford of New Haven Legal Assistance Association.
Two weeks before the eviction, Becerra filed a
workers’ compensation claim for work-related injuries. In August, Becerra fell from a 32-foot ladder and injured his hip and leg, and the next month he fell head-first from a second-floor window, according to court documents submitted by Ford.
The documents say that when Becerra told the employer that he could not go back to work, the employer issued an ultimatum that Becerra return to work or be fired and return to Guatemala.
Brown said that claim is false and the accident and eviction are “completely unrelated.” He said MDF helped process
the workers’ compensation claim.
The judge in the eviction case wrote in his decision that nothing suggests the action was retaliatory for the workers’ compensation claim. A third hearing for the workers’ compensation case is scheduled for March 15.
Brown said Becerra’s maximum employment period was through Nov. 30, per the H-2B work visa for temporary, non-agricultural jobs.
Ford said Becerra wants to be compensated and taken care of medically before returning to Guatemala. In the meantime, Ford said Becerra’s attorney in the workers
compensation case has filed for a visa extension.
Becerra said he’s currently doing physical therapy for his injuries, and he continues to reside in the house. He said he’s concerned about what he’ll do for himself, and for his wife and teenage children he supports in Ayutla Tecún Umán, Guatemala.
“With the state I find myself in now, my hands are tied,” he said in Spanish. “I can’t start any job because of the situation I’m living through. And if there’s no work, there’s no money. And if there’s no money, there’s no food. And if there’s no food, sadly, it’s a dark outcome.”