PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Workers’ Compensation Court does not check the immigration status of complainants, and no employee — including undocumented workers — should be afraid to pursue a claim, the court’s chief judge said at a community forum.

“Believe me when I tell you, we do not inquire about the employees’ documentation. That is not an issue that the court concerns itself with,” Chief Judge George E. Healy Jr. told community advocates and others at Monday’s forum. “We focus on the question of whether the employee was injured, and whether the employee was disabled. At last check, the citizenship status didn’t answer any of those questions.”

Healy emphasized that the claim process is a no-fault system, concerned only with whether an employee was performing his or her job at the time of injury — a qualifier for workers’ compensation. State law entitles all workers to pursue claims, regardless of immigration status.

Monday’s forum sought to allay fears among immigrant workers, especially those who are here illegally or without proper documentation, about pursuing claims. Representatives of numerous immigrant advocacy groups also got an overview, from claims and court processes, workplace safety, medical treatment and settlements, to “what to expect from your lawyer.”

One speaker, lawyer Steve Minicucci, acknowledged “upset in the local community” over recent events in the political realm and the executive order Governor Carcieri issued in March to curb illegal immigration. Minicucci said the order is creating palpable fear.

The order, in part, grants state police the power to enforce some immigration laws. It also requires electronic checking of the legal status of some state employees, and those who work for private vendors doing business with the state.

“They [clients] want to know whether or not just the fact that they would come into my office will require me somehow to drop a dime on them, and to call the governor, or to call [immigration authorities], or to call somebody else and tell them that they may be there as an undocumented worker,” said Minicucci.

“I mean no disrespect to the governor by this, but basically … this order simply does not apply to us,” Minicucci said. “Any workers that have been injured in a job, furthering the business of their employer, trying to earn a hard week’s pay for their family, for their ability to eat, need not be worried that a lawyer that they walk into for representation, is going to call the governor of this state or anybody else to tell them that they’re an undocumented worker. It just won’t happen.”

He said lawyers are obligated to explain that with very few exceptions, anything a client tells them — about their case, their immigration status, or even crimes they may have committed — “is privileged,” and as such, remains between attorney and client.

Another speaker, compliance assistant Maryann Medeiros for the Providence office of the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration, said employers in the private sector “are required to provide a safe and healthy work environment to every employee. I did not say ‘illegal immigrant.’ I said every employee. We do not ask questions about immigration status. We do not need to do that.”

Several speakers, including Judge Healy, used as an object lesson the case involving Edgar Velásquez, a Mexican illegal immigrant who last year won a compensation claim against a tree-service company owner. Velásquez was initially deported after his employer allegedly notified immigration authorities, but through community pressure, reentered the country on a humanitarian visa to pursue his case.

Healy said news of the Velásquez case raced through the grapevine, stirring unnecessary fears in the immigrant community.

“When Mr. Velásquez was picked up and deported, I can assure you, that went through this community,” said Healy. “I’m not going to tell you that no one is ever going to get deported. What I can tell you, is that we’re not green-card enforcers.”

Lawyer Denise Lombardo-Myers, who spoke about the court process, said the Velásquez case illustrated how essential interpreters and community advocates are for non-English-speaking workers who pursue comp cases. She said Velásquez had “some wonderful advocates in the community who supported him in the process,” and helped ease his anxiety about appearing before the court.

Meanwhile, the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council voted last week to hold for further study, a bill Governor Carcieri put forward to exclude illegal immigrants from coverage under the workers’ compensation law. The council’s members are appointed by the governor and the legislature. The bill would also impose a $5,000 penalty on employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers.

The Senate Labor Committee two weeks ago referred it to the advisory council. Healy said, “The council took the position that this needs additional study. And that will probably be the recommendation — that it be sent back to the Senate Labor Committee.”

kziner@projo.com