Tag Archives: work from home

Case number chart Nov 2020 - WA Dept. of Health
Coronavirus

COVID-19 Restrictions Tightened in WA

COVID-19 restrictions tightened for the entire state for 4- week period.

On Saturday, Governor Inslee announced a tightening of the restrictions on activities in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The new restrictions take effect on midnight tonight, November 16, 2020, with the exception of those placed on restaurants and bars, which take effect on Wednesday. The restrictions are currently set to expire on December 14th.

CW Remains Fully Operational

Causey Wright has remained open and fully operational in a manner that almost matches the current increased restrictions exactly. We have maintained a low number of essential employees and clients/visitors inside the office, with most employees working from home, since the beginning of the pandemic. We have precautions and procedures in place to ensure the safety of anyone in the office. We will make minor adjustments to our plan to adapt as the COVID-19 restrictions tightened require.

Litigation Events

All scheduled court proceedings before the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals and the Superior Courts are held via a remote-access. In many cases, our clients have opted to provide their testimony, whether before the judge or through a deposition, from our office. We have computers, web cameras and a strong wifi signal, and your attorney will be in the office, as well, to help with the process and provide full legal services before, during and after the litigation event.

We will coordinate with each client to meet their needs. For some, the ability to participate in their litigation from home is welcome. Others prefer to be in the office. Either way, we can make it work.

The COVID-19 restrictions tightened, but your case has not stopped. If you have concerns about an upcoming proceeding, or if you need assistance with a workers’ compensation claim, please contact us.

Prior Posts on Related Topics
Photo by jurvetson on Foter.com / CC BY
Worker Safety

Remote Workplace Injuries – Are You Covered?

Are remote workplace injuries a covered event? Maybe, yes.

Now that we’re in a pandemic, it is possible for workers to be injured while not in the office or on the job site. Because many employees are working from home, it is possible that an injury at home might be a covered event.

Course of Employment

The Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals is an administrative law court that oversees, among other things, appeals in workers’ compensation cases. The Board publishes significant decisions made on a variety of topics, including course of employment questions. The sheer number of significant decisions on this topic demonstrates that the answer to most questions of “Am I Covered?” is “maybe.”

Generally, a worker who is injured while in the course of employment is able to file a workers’ compensation claim. In most cases, an injury occurs on the employer’s premises, but not always. For instance, an employee driving a car while furthering the employer’s business – say, a plumber driving a truck to a site where work will be performed, bringing tools and equipment required for the job – is likely a covered employee.

In the case of employees working from home due to protective steps taken in response to the pandemic, coverage may extend to the employee’s home. As an example, if you are working from home and, as part of your usual work duties, you have to lift a box of necessary tools up to your work surface and, while doing so, you injure your shoulder, you may have a covered injury event. Remote workplace injuries may be covered events, if the criteria for claim allowance are met.

Filing a Claim for an Injury

For those that have suffered an injury, whether on the employer’s premises or at home, a claim may be filed with the Department of Labor and Industries. A claim can be filed:

  • Online via DLI’s FileFast tool.
  • By phone: 1-877-561-3453 (FILE).
  • At your doctor’s office (if you complete the Report of Accident at your doctor’s office, the doctor files the form for you).

You can watch a DLI video that generally describes the process for filing a claim if you need more information about the steps to be taken.

More Information or Assistance

If you have questions about workers’ compensation, or if you already filed a claim and your claim was denied, please feel free to contact our firm. We offer a free case analysis, and would be happy to discuss your specific circumstances with you.

Prior Posts on Related Topics
injured at home, telecommuting employees, Workers' Compensation

I was injured at home while working for my employer. Am I entitled to workers’ compensation benefits?

Today’s post comes from guest author Kristina Brown Thompson, from The Jernigan Law Firm.

We’ve all seen the ads for “work from home” jobs (spoiler alert – many are scams). However, corporations like Apple, IBM, CVS, and many, many more are frequently advertising work-from-home or telecommuter jobs to employees thus providing a flexible work schedule. The question then arises – what happens if the telecommuting employee is injured at home? For example, what if the employee is injured during a personal coffee break? What if he slips on his driveway? Or, if she trips over her pet while walking to her van to get work supplies?

 

In deciding on whether an employee’s injury may be compensable, courts have generally considered (1) how regularly the employee works from home, (2) the presence of work equipment at home (e.g. work computer or corporate phone), and/or (3) other conditions particular to that employment that make it necessary for the employee to work from home. The courts specifically look to whether the employee is working from home for his or her convenience, or if it’s necessary from the employer’s standpoint that the employee work from home (e.g. there is no other suitable place of employment offered by the employer).

 

For example, in Utah, the Court of Appeals held that a sales manager who was spreading salt on his driveway in anticipation of an important business delivery sustained a compensable slip and fall at work. The Court determined that the manager’s motivation in spreading the salt was to assist the employer’s business. [AE Clevite Inc. v. Labor Comm’n, 2000 UT App. 35, 996 P.2d 1072 (2000)]. Also, where a custom decorator for J.C. Penney was walking out to her van in her garage to get fabric samples and tripped over her dog, that injury was also compensable [Sandburg v. J.C. Penney Co, Inc., 260 P.3d 496 (2011)]. The Court explained that the home premises was also her work premises and the decorator had to keep samples in her van to show potential customers.

 

The bottom line is that when telecommuters are injured at home during the actual performance of their jobs, regardless of how insignificant, the injury may be compensable.