Workers’ Compensation for the Hybrid Workplace
Understanding the Issue
Aside from Texas, every state in the U.S. requires employers to protect themselves and their employees with Workers’ Compensation. The employer’s policy also covers remote and hybrid workers.
This insurance covers employees for temporary and permanent disabilities that result from a work-related injury. For example, if an employee trips and hurts themselves at the office or lifts something heavy and strains their back and, as a result, is unable to work, workers’ comp will kick in. It will cover any related medical costs and a portion of the lost wages.
The process is relatively straightforward when an injury occurs at the office. But when someone gets injured while working from home, proving the injury was work-related can get complicated. Were they working, or were they taking care of personal matters when the incident happened?
Every State Has Its Own Workers’ Compensation Laws
Workers’ Compensation lawsuits involving remote workers have come up in courts throughout the U.S. and will continue to be clarified with time. For now, each workers’ comp case can vary widely by state. For example, a Florida court sided against an employee who fell over her dog while getting coffee from her home kitchen during business hours, while a Pennsylvania court ruled in favor of an employee who fell down her home stairs after getting a drink during work hours.
What Insurers and Employers Can Implement
Although accidents are unavoidable, you can take some steps to prevent incidents from occurring or at least make it easier to determine if an injury is work-related.
Agree on a Schedule
Lines can get very blurry when an employee has overly flexible hybrid work hours. If they have the latitude to work whenever and wherever they want as long as they complete their duties, there will be many scenarios where it will be hard to prove an incident was or wasn’t work-related.
For example, an employee could slip on ice while walking to a coffee shop. Were they headed there to respond to work emails or to grab a bite with a friend?
If possible, determine a basic schedule that includes:
Where they will work
Their approximate — or exact — working hours
When they intend to take short breaks
What time they plan to take off for lunch
That will help you somewhat define when and where the employee is covered under your Workers’ Compensation insurance.
Keep a Digital Footprint
Try to keep track of hybrid employees while they’re working from home. Have them communicate via email or other digital means so there’s a record of them performing work-related duties. You can also have them use monitoring software that records their online activities while they work.
In many situations, having an established digital footprint can go a long way in determining whether an injury occurred while the employee was working. If you can show that they were working on their computer minutes before they headed to the doctor for an injury, it will help get that employee covered for the incident.
Guide Employees With Their Home Office Setup
Just as employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workspace at the office, employees can work on their setup at home. Some of the issues employees should concern themselves with while setting up their home office include:
Avoiding hazards, such as overloading their electric outlets
Making sure there’s no loose wiring they can trip over
Ensuring their work area has adequate lighting
Getting and setting up furniture that will help prevent disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome
Guiding employees on how to set up their home office can help lower the likelihood of an incident occurring.
Dan Zeiler
dan@zeiler.com
877-597-5900 x134