Tennessee, who you’ve seen in the news lately for considering an “opt-out” program for workers’ comp, is making headlines for another ruling that deals with undocumented workers.

A judge in Davidson County struck down a law that limited compensation for undocumented workers, saying it was unconstitutional and that these workers should be compensated the same as other workers. The ruling may be appealed by the Tennessee Attorney General’s office but no decision has been made from their end.

Carolos Martinez came to Nashville from Guatemala and started working for Commercial Services in March of 2011. Later that year he slipped and fell mowing grass, and the mower ran over his arm causing nerve damage and other injuries. As an undocumented worker, he had a cap on his disability benefits.

Chancellor Russell Perkins said that the law might “pre-empt” federal immigration law and was enacted to try and establish a state immigration law which is unconstitutional because it’s trying to go above the federal laws. It also might encourage businesses to hire undocumented workers and go around the system if they think they can pay less for workers comp. He said it was unfair for Martinez to receive less compensation, and ordered he be paid $45,000 in income replacement.

Martinez’s lawyer said he hopes that this will help undocumented workers to be treated more fairly, he sees a lot of them performing dangerous work and then getting ignored when they are injured.