The basic tenet of Workers Compensation Insurance is to respond to employee injuries sustained on the job, resulting from the work the employee was hired to perform. My how the rule has been stretched!
Polly was hired to test finished pieces of electronic equipment. One morning, she spilled boiling water over herself while making coffee in the break room. Sure the injury was sustained on the job, but was she hired to make coffee or test electronic equipment? Claim denied — but for the “Positional Risk Doctrine;” a legal doctrine stating that “mere presence on the job” is sufficient if the employee is injured!
How about Heather, who while working diligently at home for her company, popped downstairs to get a cup o’ tea tripped over the ironing board that had been left out, and broke her ankle? Work related? Workers Comp? Possibly, maybe, likely! What about the “Employee Personal Comfort Doctrine,” yet another legal device that states that claims arising from employee personal comfort are deemed to be arising from employment! Surely getting a nice warm cup of tea to break the monotony of the work day would fall within such a doctrine?
So where do we go from here?
Indeed those who work at home are subject to the same Workers Compensation rules, regulations and benefits as those who leave home and go to work. As employers are required to provide a safe working environment at their place of business, so must employers provide a safe place for workers who work at home. Is the employee working at the kitchen table or at an ergonomically approved work station? Have you or your Workers Compensation insurer inspected the home office(s) of your worker(s)? It’s not optional.
For employers, the rules for those who work at home or on the road, are no different than for those who work at the office, plant or place of business – safety is a must, ergonomics paramount and “working at home rules” such as, but not limited to implementing a daily record of tasks that were performed, or a journal of the workday accomplishments or the use of readily available electronic sign-in/out/task software programs are imperative for the effective evaluation of the circumstances of an actual or alleged workplace injury. The task is not onerous and it’s essential toward maintaining a safe working environment and control of the ever increasing cost of Workers Compensation insurance.
Mike Mansel, MA
Certified Insurance Counselor
Granite Insurance Brokers
©8.2013