Are Your Remote Workers Covered?

With COVID pushing the new work-from-home life on some of the employees around the world, there are many questions regarding workers comp coverage. Are remote workers covered if they are not in the office? Short answer, based on the article by Prof. Robert Bloink and Prof. William H. Byrnes, says it really depends on the state the employee works in. The article mentions two cases, one in Florida and the other in Pennsylvania. The Florida employee was injured tripping over her dog while on a break in her kitchen and was determined not to receive workers comp benefits. The Pennsylvania employee fell down the stairs while getting a cup of juice, and the courts found her to be covered, and entitled to workers comp benefits. If an employer has employees working in multiple states remotely, each state is going to have its own set of guidelines and state laws applying to that employee. The article also gives some advice about remote workers. One piece of advice the authors provide, is to make sure your employees know the policies regarding their workers comp as a remote employee. Make sure you are up to date with the requirements for each state your employees are in regarding their remote work. Maybe even promote a safe space for an at-home working environment. Regardless of your employees remote status, make sure your employees are covered for workers comp.

Bloink, R., & Byrnes, W. (2022, November 28). Remote Workers & Workers' Comp Coverage Gaps. PropertyCasualty360. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://www.propertycasualty360.com/2022/11/28/remote-workers-workers-comp-coverage-gaps/