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Worker’s Compensation When You Work From Home

Workers’ Compensation The digitization of the workplace has led to an increase in remote or work-from-home positions. While working from home is a tremendous benefit for many employees, it does tend to muddy the waters when it comes to an employer’s commercial insurance and workers’ compensation. Also, while workers’ compensation is also a great benefit for most workers, working from home can make it difficult to prove liability. Therefore, what happens if you are injured in your home office? Are you covered by your employer’s commercial policy? Will workers’ compensation cover your medical expenses? Unfortunately, there are no simple answers to those questions because everything depends on a variety of contributing factors. Employment Definition Employers are only responsible for full-fledged employees. While you might work full-time for your current employer, that does not mean that you are defined as an employee. Many remote workers are classified as independent contractors or contracted workers. If this is how your company defines your role, then you are most likely not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. However, if your employer defines your role as an employee, then you are protected by workers’ compensation. If you are unsure of your employment definition, then it is a good idea to contact your company or supervisor and discuss your role. Evidence of Injury While working from home is a dream come true for most, it is difficult if you must depend on workers’ compensation to support in the event of an injury. It is relatively simple to prove an injury that occurs on a job site during business hours due to the number of witnesses and possible recording equipment. However, when working from home, you likely lack any witnesses or proof. Although, proving such incidents are possible and courts have found in favor of remote employees before. Unfortunately, the successful cases are rare, despite remote employees having the same rights as on-site workers. Whether you work at home, remotely, or on-site, if you are defined as an employee by your employer, then you are entitled to workers’ compensation if injured on the job. If you have been denied a workers’ compensation claim despite having evidence to support your claim, then it might be time to hire an experienced Brooklyn on the job injury lawyer. These lawyers have the experience necessary to wade through the legal proceedings and jargon, and they are likely better equipped to defend your claim against...
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What You Should Know About Listing Property in a Bankruptcy

Property in a Bankruptcy When filing for bankruptcy, you will be required to list and value all your assets. The inventory is required whether you are filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 protection. However, you may not have to hand over any asset to a trustee in Chapter 13 if you reach a repayment agreement. Even with the liquidation of assets, there may be some property that is exempt from bankruptcy proceedings according to state and federal laws. Chapter 7 When someone seeks Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, they must first fill out an inventory and valuation of all assets. Since assets will be liquidated to pay off debts, there are some personal assets deemed necessary for life that the debtor is allowed to keep. With a good attorney, the filer may be able to keep a majority of assets that would enable them to live and work. With liquidation, the debt is absolved, meaning that the debtor no longer owes the debt. However, filing for Chapter 7 does not automatically mean that the debt will be discharged. An example is a lien against real estate. Chapter 13 Just as in Chapter 7, when filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection, all assets must be listed and valued. Since Chapter 13 is a realignment of debt, assets should not have to be handed over as long as there is agreement on how to pay for them. This type of filing is common for those seeking to protect their homes from foreclosure. How to Protect Your Property Timely paymentsBudgetingSavingMonitor debt-to-income ratio The best way to protect your property is to keep current on payments. Adhering to a budget is the best way to keep yourself out of a bad situation in which you feel there is no other recourse but bankruptcy. When you are following a budget, make sure you have a payment listed to yourself. Saving for rainy days should be your first payment of the month. Pay close attention to how much debt you have accumulated compared to your income or ability to pay. There are several online resources to help you calculate your ratio. If you start to be concerned about your ability to pay, talk to the creditors about lowering interest rates or consolidating payments. Despite our best intentions, life has a way of surprising us. Unexpectedly losing a job or getting a serious illness or injury and...
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New Texas Bill Restricts “Balance Billing” by Certain Providers

Balance Billing During the 86th Texas legislative session, Senate Bill 1264 was recently passed, placing restrictions on certain out-of-network providers relating to “balance billing”. The bill also establishes a process by which health providers can resolve disputes regarding payment. This way, Texan’s will be less likely to be met with surprise medical bills due to out-of-network providers not being able to agree on treatment prices with their insurance company. The bill passed the senate with a 29-2 vote with two physicians on the dissenting side. The bill is effective September 1, 2019 and applies to services provided on or after January 1, 2020. Surprise medical bills (also known as balance bills) occur when patients are invoiced for medical costs leftover after insurance companies dispute with healthcare providers. This often comes as a “surprise” because patients don’t realize that they associated with an out of network provider such as a physician assistant who may not be in network. In terms of fleshing out the details, the bill protects patients from out-of-network costs during times in which the go to an in-network hospital. This way, patients will only be responsible for in-network rates. By leaving out-of-network disputes to be handled by insurers and the health care providers, Texas patients (who have for years been devastated by these charges) can rest easier knowing that they won’t be hit with a surprise bill.  SB 1264 also establishes a dispute resolution process for out of network claims and decisions to be made regarding payment between health plans and providers. Within 30 days of the request, out of network providers and health plans must participate in an informal settlement teleconference to reach a resolution. If no decision is met, the bill provides for mediation or arbitration depending on the type of provider. These programs are established by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI); they are to adopt the rules and procedures by which the program is implemented (such as a web portal to request mediation/arbitration). Although the bill may allow for an arbitration process that takes the patient out of the dispute, the patent is still responsible for deductibles, co-payments and cost sharing methods. In an increasingly more expensive healthcare process, this seems to be a step in the right direction for Texas. Looking towards the future, it will be interesting to see how these procedures will operate once developed. If there’s anything to take...
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