That's where I mainly spend my time
Our Covid-related tax question yesterday really got the wheels spinning. Here's another one the reader asked about: What about worker's compensation?
If you get injured on the job when you're on your employer's premises, that's coverd by worker's compensation laws. You get compensated for your injury regardless of whose fault it was that you got hurt.
But let's say that now, the stuff you used to do in a cubicle at the your employer's site, you do on a computer in your house. What if you fall down your stairs during the part of the day when you're working? Does worker's comp cover that?
Does it matter if you trip while walking to the printer, where you just printed out a work-related document? Does it matter if you trip on your way to the bathroom, or on your way to the kitchen for lunch? You'd be covered if that happened at your pre-pandemic place of employment, I think.
What if you trip over your cat, who isn't allowed at your pre-pandemic place of employment? What if you're injured when you drop the life-like mannequin you use for Zoom meetings on your foot?
I welcome the opinions of any experts out there. Even non-experts, maybe.
If those kind of accidents do become issues in worker's comp, it sounds like an open door for employers to come into employee's houses and manage them for safety issues. You can have a cat, but it must be caged, or sequestered from the 'workplace' during work hours, you need a safety rail here, your water heater is set at too high a temperature, etc., etc., etc. Also lot of potential fun with the investigators making you prove that the accident happened during a time you were actually working, not just living in your home.
ReplyDeleteMy first assistant worked from home for me part-time. They made me get Workers Comp coverage for her with her home address listed as her worksite
ReplyDeleteThe annual premium, based on her pay and hours, was below the minimum annual premium, so they charged me that.
So, yes, there better have been coverage if she was hurt.