Are Remote Workers Entitled to Workers’ Compensation Benefits?

Are Remote Workers Entitled to Workers’ Compensation Benefits?

Remote workers are also eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. Medical charts review is a major requirement when determining workers’ comp benefits.

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Workers seeking compensation for injuries sustained at the workplace often find the related laws and the overall process quite complicated and difficult to understand. The injured party’s medical record being very important evidence, attorneys handling workers’ comp cases have the medical chart reviewed by an experienced medical review company.

This helps extract the required evidence and establish the injury. The workers’ compensation process could be more challenging when it comes to remote employees.

Remote employees or telecommuters usually work from their homes or a remote location.

The question is whether these workers are covered under the same work injury laws that are applicable to regular workers. Though state laws may vary, remote workers are also entitled to the same benefits that other employees are entitled to. A 2018 study found that more than sixty percent of the global workforce works at least one day a week away from the office location. Almost 50% of all workers work half the week remotely. That is, almost 3.7 million employees work from home at least part time. Remote employees are also at risk for work-related injuries.

An employer could be held liable for injuries sustained by a remote employee. Remote workplace settings must be adopted with great care so that legal liability can be avoided. 

The employer has very limited or even no control over the working location or home premises of the employee.

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It is important to have an effective plan to manage remote staffers, and identify who is covered under the particular state’s Workers’ Compensation Act.

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It could be difficult to ascertain whether the worker’s injury actually took place within the course and scope of employment. If workers’ compensation to apply, the injury must arise from job duties. Whether it is a sudden accident, or an injury that manifested itself over time, it must have occurred during work hours and from some activity related to the work.

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Since telecommuters are not working where a supervisor can monitor their actions, employers may have the risk of increased liability. It will be difficult to determine whether an injury is compensable if it occurred when the worker mixed personal business with work time. o

Typically, employers are held responsible for injuries that occur during a detour, for e.g. when an employee is physically away from his or her job duties that are considered minor.

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Employers are not responsible for injuries that occur during a major detour.

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The important consideration would be whether the detour was caused by the worker acting on his/her own and for their own benefit, or whether

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there was a minor sidetrack the worker committed while following other orders from the employer. 

Another problem is whether the injured person is a regular employee or an independent contractor. Workers’ compensation generally does not cover injuries sustained by independent contractors.

How can employers avoid costly workers’ compensation claims from remote employees? 

Have a clear telecommuting policy: First, have a clear telecommuting policy and review it with the workers so that they understand it is serious. Have them sign an acknowledgment of receipt document. Such a policy should outline the obligations of both employer and employee. Each party should know what is required and what is expected. The policy should include considerations such as: o

Work hours

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Time management

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Equipment used

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Reporting or milestones

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Designated work area

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Evidence of presence in the work area

As an employer, you can try implementing geo-tracking, check-ins, and equipment tracking or other milestone reporting that proves where the employee is working. If the employee is injured but have not checked in or the equipment is outside a designated area, the employer may not be held liable. 

Have in place clear guidelines regarding the home office: Insist on an ergonomically correct desk set up with a computer and printer. If allowed by law, employers can also consider periodic home office checks to ensure that the telecommuters’ home offices are safe. This will help identify hazards if any or other issues of concern and thereby prevent accidents or injury.

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Consider establishing clear working hours and break times: This will help ensure that the employer is not liable for any accidents that occur at any time of day or night. Employers can also clearly state the work activities that are permissible to be completed during a telecommuting arrangement and outline other activities to be completed in the physical workspace.

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Install task-monitoring software: This will help record the employee’s computer activities. If a claim arises, the employer will have information that shows when certain software was being used or when the computer was idle.

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Workers’ compensation attorneys and the companies providing them medical review services are familiar with many cases involving remote workers. To be eligible for benefits, the employee must prove that he/she was acting in the interest of the employer at the time the injury occurred. Often, courts have found that the employer’s lack of control over the conditions of a remote employee’s home-based work premises is irrelevant. Since the remote worker’s home is also his/her work premises, it could be interpreted that the risks the worker faces when performing home-based work are also hazards related to his/her employment. In other words, employers are responsible for providing the same safe work environment for remote workers just as for those working on company property.

For the benefit of both employers and remote employees, it is vital that employers have a good plan to steer through the practical and legal challenges. They should have a clear awareness of the Workers’ Compensation Act in their individual states. What is most important is to prevent accidents and injuries as far as possible by taking the right steps.

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