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Are telecommuters covered under Workers Compensation? The answer is yes. An employee illness or injury is compensable under the workers\u2019 compensation in case it arises out of and while in the period of employment, no matter the location the injury takes place.<\/p>\n
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There\u2019s no secret that people\u2019s workplace is changing in this era. With Today\u2019s technology employees can be able to work almost from anywhere yet simultaneously being connected all the time. For the case of telecommuting workers, this chance brings unprecedented act of freedom when it comes to choosing the environment and where exactly to work at, and a significant number are grabbing this advantage with both their arms.<\/p>\n
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For employers, there are important advantages also when you embrace the telecommuting working style. Allowing employees work from their home helps in:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Attracting talent from a wide geographic area.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Boosting worker retention.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Lowering the fixed costs.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Increase worker productivity.<\/p>\n
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Telecommuting can also cause challenges, including the one which a lot of employers normally don\u2019t typically consider: this is the need for Workers\u2019 Compensation insurance that will cover employees who work from their home or other locations external from the main firm.<\/p>\n
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While some workers might not refer telecommuters to have be a Workers\u2019 Compensation cover, the truth is that a lot of employers act on blind faith on their employees\u2019 work \u201cstations\u201d, especially when home offices. Most of the time they underestimate these employees\u2019 exposure. There are numerous scenarios in which employers could be found liable for injuries that occur in or near a home office.<\/p>\n
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Qualifications for workers compensation for telecommuters<\/p>\n
Generally, we have two criteria that ought to be met in order for an injury to be compensable under Workers\u2019 Compensation laws. First, one\u2019s injury must \u201ccome out\u201d on one\u2019s employment. The employee has to have been acting in his\/hers employer\u2019s interest at the time the injury occurred.<\/p>\n
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Secondly, the injury has to have occurred in the course of ones\u2019 employment. It means that the injury must occur at the point where they may reasonably be at and was while the employee was doing his or assigned job.<\/p>\n
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For telecommuters, the legal question of whether an injury is compensable can be tricky. For example, if an employee is injured working from home typing, the injury is likely to be compensable. If they are injured while stepping away for coffee, it is unlikely to qualify for Workers\u2019 Compensation benefits.<\/p>\n
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Certain scenarios are not likely to be considered compensable:<\/p>\n
\u2022 An employee leaves the home office and is injured during a nonwork-related errand.<\/p>\n
\u2022 An employee takes a break from work and gets hurt vacuuming the house or cleaning the garage.<\/p>\n
\u2022 An employee who sets up a remote office in a local coffee shop goes shopping next door and is injured in a slip-an-fall accident.<\/p>\n
Here are best practices for creating a buttoned-up work-from-home policy:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Physically inspect the employee\u2019s home office to make sure it is safe.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Clearly define the physical boundaries of the home office. If the boundaries are not well-established, an employer might be liable for an injury that happens anywhere on the employee\u2019s property. If the employee has a desk job and works at a computer most of the time, you don\u2019t want to be liable for a mishap that occurs in the garage.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Employers should set specific work hours and establish set breaks where possible. Without this policy, an employee could argue that an injury occurring at any time of day or night is work-related.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Specifically describe the scope of the employee\u2019s activities. This reduces the possibility a clerical employee could successfully present a claim for doing a physical activity while in the home. The policy should make it clear that activities falling outside the employee\u2019s job description are not the employer\u2019s responsibility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Are telecommuters covered under Workers Compensation? The answer is yes. An employee illness or injury is compensable under the workers\u2019 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[602],"tags":[646,647,195,103],"class_list":["post-2196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-workers-compensation","tag-telecommute","tag-telecommuter","tag-workers-comp","tag-workers-compensation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n