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 your employer’s insurance company. However, there is no need to commit to an attorney right away, call around, and request a meeting.

Thanks to Polsky, Shouldice & Rosen, P.C. for their insight into workers’ compensation and claims for working from home.