Will I Qualify for Workers’ Compensation Benefits?

The doubts surfaced after you sustained an injury from a workplace accident. As a result, You will be out of work for some time. Will you be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits?

Such doubts surfaced due to hearsay from a coworker as well as information provided by a not-so-well-informed supervisor. In your case, as a full-time employee hurt while performing job-related duties, you should be eligible for these much-needed benefits.

Employment status, job-related injury

The main determinations as to whether you qualify for workers’ compensation benefits are your employment status and whether your injury happened on the job. This should hold true for full- and part-time workers.

Some situations when workers are ineligible

However, certain situations will make a worker ineligible for workers’ compensation benefits. They include:

• Independent contractor status: Contract workers are not employees of a company, so they do not qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. However, if a contractor is an employee of a staffing agency, then this company should provide workers’ compensation coverage.

• The injury occurred while not performing work duties: An at-home injury such as a slip and fall or an injury while on vacation does not qualify you for these benefits. (However, an off-site injury while performing your job should qualify you.)

• The injury occurred due to questionable circumstances: This includes horseplay on the job as well as impairment attributed to drugs or alcohol.

Other workers may be exempt from workers’ compensation coverage as well. This list may undocumented, seasonal, domestic and agriculture workers.

A necessary safety net

No worker wants a job-related injury that prevents them from working for weeks or months. Your employer has workers’ compensation for a reason: to help pay medical bills and lost wages to workers who sustained a job-related injury. These benefits represent a necessary safety net.