What To Know About Workers Comp: Are You Covered?
Posted on: 3 April 2018
Workers comp helps those injured at work in several valuable ways, and this form of employer-offered insurance can be a real support system for those who need it. Without having to spend any money on premiums, a hurt worker can expect to get free medical care and even get a certain percentage of their pay while they get better. Unfortunately, not everyone can receive this valuable work benefit, so read on to learn more about who gets covered and who does not.
Do you actually work for the company where you were injured? Nowadays, workers may not really be employed by the place of business where the injury happened. You may come in every day, swipe your card at the entrance and do the very same work as everyone else, but if your paycheck comes from someone other than that employer, you might be a contract worker.
It's not all that uncommon for businesses to supplement their staffs by hiring contract or temporary workers, who actually work for companies like Manpower or Kelly. That is not to say that you are not entitled to workers' comp coverage, but you need to file your claim with the appropriate employer to get coverage. Even temporary agencies offer their employees workers' comp coverage, but if you are a contract worker you may not have any workers' comp coverage at all.
Another class of employees that work outside of the cubicle and that is growing exponentially are independent contractors. These people cover the gamut of workers and include web designers, free-lance writers, paralegals and even medical personnel. If it can be done offsite, you have the potential for it to be done by an independent contractor. The IRS has definitions of these types of employees, and in most cases independent contractors are responsible for taking out their own disability insurance, such as Aflac. A sticking point with this type of employer-employee relationship is the tendency for businesses to purposely mis-classify a worker to avoid paying them any benefits.
Are you getting paid to do a job or are you a volunteer? No matter how hard you may work in your volunteer position, you are probably not going to be able to get workers comp benefits if you get hurt. You may, however, be able to sue them using a personal injury platform. Speak to an attorney about that.
It should also be mentioned that in some instances, volunteer firemen may qualify for workers comp benefits. These tireless heroes readily perform dangerous duties to protect small communities, so it just makes sense for them to have coverage.
Speak to your workers comp attorney to learn more about your workers' comp coverage.
Share