Worker’s compensation can be tricky when it comes to dealing with employees who work from home or as remote workers. Since the COVID-19 global pandemic, remote work has steadily been on the rise. In fact, the pandemic helped push this work trend into overdrive. Since it started, over 60% of the workforce in the United States has had a work-from-home stint at some point.
As more workers telecommute, owners of small businesses are pondering whether workers’ compensation insurance is needed for their remote workers and what happens when someone gets injured or hurt.
The workers’ compensation lawyers at Hope Law Firm are always ready to answer some of the common questions people have about remote work and workers’ compensation.
This article will briefly explain what it covers, how it works, and how you can lessen the chances of your employees getting injured while working remotely.
Does Workers’ Compensation Insurance Cover Remote Workers?
Yes, it does. Telecommuting and remote workers are normally covered under workers’ compensation insurance policies if the harm, illness, or injury happens while they’re on duty or while they’re completing a work obligation during work hours.
In many cases, the remote employee needs to be able to demonstrate that they got sick or injured while they were conducting official duties. This means that the burden of proof lies on them.
However, some courts have come to find that, even though the remote worker’s home environment may not be under the control of their employer, not having evidence isn’t a good reason for a claim to be denied.
Therefore, employers are the ones who need to provide their remote workers with the same secure and safe work environment their on-site employees have access to.
How Does It Work?
Most employees normally see working from home or remote work as a perk. However, it has a few drawbacks for employers.
When an employee works from home, the employer doesn’t have much control when it comes to workspace safety and security. If a remote worker gets hurt or injured while on the job, witnesses might be very hard to find when it comes to verifying the accident. Workers’ compensation only covers injuries if they occur “in furtherance of employment” or “in the scope and course of employment.” So how can one tell if the injury of a remote worker qualifies?
Different states interpret this differently; however, many use the doctrine of personal comfort. This entails that employees deserve to be compensated for damages or injuries that happen while doing things such as taking a bathroom break or quenching their thirst with a drink while at work.
However, the rules are far from clear-cut, black-and-white. For instance, just because your remote worker is on duty, does not necessarily mean that they got hurt while at work. It all depends on the circumstances of the injury and what they were actually doing while it happened.
For instance, let’s say your remote worker breaks their hand while making their morning coffee in the kitchen while they are on the clock or trips over their dog. Even though they were technically on duty, the court can sometimes find that the damages or harm were not related to work. The reasoning behind this is that the chances of them breaking their hand while making coffee or tripping over their dog have no correlation with work.
With that said, the insurance provider usually handles all this. As an employer, all you need to do is ensure your remote workers understand that they have to report work-related injuries as soon as possible. Document the whole incident as best as you can, and then hand over your results to your insurance service provider.
Guest writer.
