| Intoxication |
| When an employee is injured outside the course of his employment, he is ineligible to receive workers' compensation benefits. When an employee becomes voluntarily intoxicated such that he cannot function or perform the tasks of his job, courts will consider him to have departed from the course of employment. Therefore, compensation for an injury incurred while the employee is so inebriated as to be incapable of performing his work will likely be denied. More... |
| Domestic Servant Exemption |
| Workers' compensation coverage for domestic servants is limited. Such limitation is generally based on the exclusion for part-time employees or the statutory exemption for employers with less than the requisite minimum number of employees. Many states specifically exclude domestic servants from workers' compensation coverage. Others omit to place domestic servants on the list of covered employments. However, almost half of the states provide at least a measure of coverage for those employed as domestic servants.More... |
| Pre-Employment Injuries |
| Generally, compensation will be denied for injuries incurred prior to an employee being actually hired. However, courts have tended to reject form over substance and allowed compensation when the employee was hired though he had not finished the full hiring process such as completing the employer's business paperwork like payroll and tax forms. Compensation turns on whether a contract of hire has been entered into between the employer and potential employee -- an express or implied contract will suffice. More... |
| Injured Employee's Recovery Election |
| Historically, when an employee was injured in the course of his employment, but at the hands of a negligent third party, he was technically able to pursue relief through both the workers' compensation system and a third-party action. Though not able to receive a double recovery, the employee was technically eligible to recover under either theory. However, strict election rules required that he choose which theory of recovery he would pursue, even if his "choice" ultimately left him with no compensation at all. For example, the injured employee elects to proceed with a third-party action, thereby foregoing workers' compensation, but ends up losing the third-party action. More... |
| Acts Outside Employee's Regular Duties That Benefit Others |
| When an employee acts to benefit his employer, he is considered to be within the course of his employment as long as such actions were undertaken in good faith. It is immaterial whether the employee's own regular work assignments were furthered by his actions; it is merely whether the employer's interests were promoted. As a corollary to this rule, it is also the case that if an employee aids a co-worker with the co-worker's job duties, his good faith actions in doing so are also within the course of his employment. Compensation has even been awarded to an employee who was injured while helping a co-worker after the employee's regular workday had ended. The reasoning behind the allowance of compensation in instances such as this is that it is contrary to the employer's best interests to inhibit the helpful nature of employees. Thus, helping a fellow employee is advancing the employer's interests, albeit indirectly.More... |
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