Worker’s Compensation is a significant investment into your business and overall workplace, ensuring that your professional environment is safe, productive, and beneficial for employees. With the current COVID-19 pandemic, workers compensation has substantially shifted to adapt to remote learning environments and online work formats. That’s why we want to highlight important details about workers compensation for employees working remotely.

Remote Employees And Workers Compensation

Reporting Work-Related Injuries Remotely

When applying workers compensation to remote employees, it is important to acknowledge that businesses and employers have less control over the safety and productivity of their employees’ environments. Thus, while workers compensation qualifications vary by state, most interpretations for work-related injuries in a remote setting are based on the doctrine of injuries of personal comfort during work hours. If an employee is injured while doing things out of personal comfort during an active work day, such as grabbing a glass of water, then workers compensation may apply. This doctrine is stronger if the injury occurs while performing an active work-related activity.

Since workers compensation is different across industry and geographic lines, situations as such may not produce the same result. Situations are taken on a case-by-case basis, and many depend on the nature of the injury. Therefore, it is important that remote employees acknowledge and report any work-related injuries to their employers in a timely fashion to ensure that compensation can be sorted out with their insurance provider.

Is Workers Compensation a Requirement for Remote Employees?

Workers compensation laws vary state by state, however, most states that require a workers compensation policy must provide the insurance to their employees, whether they are remote or not. This makes it important for businesses to invest into the safety of their employees to ensure that they can continue to work in a productive and safe way, regardless of whether they spend most of their work hours at home or in a work setting. Depending on the state law that applies, not purchasing workers compensation for employees, especially those that work from a remote setting, can be risky because of the potential injuries that can happen in an environment you don’t have much control over.

Tips for Implementing Safer At-Home Environments

Businesses and employers can take active steps to ensure that remote employees work in a safe environment at home. For example, they can:

• Establish safe at-home guidelines for employees to follow in setting up their workplace
• Set fixed work hours, including time for rests and meals, to avoid burnouts and potential injuries
• Provide detailed workshops and trainings on creating safe, remote work environments
• Establish expectations for employees to ensure their standards for a home setting are safe and productive

Making sure your employees are working in a safe environment can protect your business from serious lawsuits and save you a lot of potential expenses.

Ensuring Your Remote Employees Are Safe And Productive 

After looking at what workers compensation may look like for remote employees, you may still want to know more about how you can ensure your employees stay safe in their home office. At Biscayne Risk and Insurance, our goal is to ensure you are up-to-date and informed about the current applications and qualifications for workers compensation, and to help you maneuver the difficulties of business insurance and the safety of your workers. We are dedicated to being of value to you and your business, and to produce quality service for your insurance needs. For more information on how we can assist you, don’t hesitate to contact us via our website today.