Howard Berkes

They got hurt at work. Then they got deported.

How insurance companies use a Florida law to get undocumented immigrants arrested and deported when they get injured on the job — and what it means in Trump’s America

Michael Grabell Howard Berkes

August 18, 2017

At age 31, Nixon Arias cut a profile similar to many unauthorized immigrants in the United States. A native of Honduras, he’d been in the country for more than a decade and had worked off and on for a landscaping company for nine years. The money he earned went to building a future for his family in Pensacola, Florida. His Facebook page was filled with photos of fishing and other moments with his three boys, ages 3, 7 and 8.

A ProPublica Story

Corporate campaign to ditch workers’ comp stalls

Michael Grabell Howard Berkes

March 9, 2016

Posted with permission from ProPublica; this story was co-published with NPR. A campaign by some of America’s biggest companies to “opt out” of state workers’ compensation — and write their own plans for dealing with injured workers — was dealt a major blow Friday when an Oklahoma commission ruled the alternative system unconstitutional.

Inside corporate America’s campaign to ditch workers’ comp

One Texas lawyer is helping companies opt out of workers’ compensation and write their own rules. What does it mean for injured workers?

Michael Grabell Howard Berkes

October 19, 2015

Standing before a giant map in his Dallas office, Bill Minick doesn’t seem like anyone’s idea of a bomb thrower. But backed by some of the biggest names in corporate America, this mild-mannered son of an evangelist is plotting a revolution in how companies take care of injured workers.

A ProPublica report:

How much is your arm worth? Depends on where you work

Michael Grabell Howard Berkes

March 11, 2015

At the time of their accidents, Jeremy Lewis was 27, Josh Potter 25. The men lived within 75 miles of each other. Both were married with two children about the same age. Both even had tattoos of their children’s names.