Pennsylvania law requires most employers to carry workers’ compensation coverage. This insurance coverage covers costs that you may incur due to an on-the-job injury. You must meet a few different conditions if you wish to qualify for such benefits.
Which types of employees qualify for workers’ compensation?
State statutes vary. However, virtually all states require workers to be either part- or full-time employees to qualify for workers’ comp coverage. Most jurisdictions prohibit independent contractors from qualifying for workers’ comp. The same rule applies to employees who work in specific job roles or industries.
Pennsylvania law exempts anyone who employs an agricultural worker for fewer than 30 days or pays them less than $1,200 per year from having such insurance. Employers may also claim either an executive or religious status exemption to avoid having to take out such coverage. Federal, longshore and railroad workers may also be ineligible for workers’ comp coverage since their employers provide similar yet alternate insurance.
How do workers’ compensation statutes define work?
Anyone wishing to qualify for workers’ comp benefits must prove that they suffered their injuries while on the job. Many employees make the mistake of assuming that a worker must have been performing their regular everyday activities when they suffered their injury to qualify to receive workers’ comp. That’s not necessarily the case, though.
Workers generally qualify for workers’ comp so long as they were performing work on behalf of their employer when they suffered their injury. It’s not unheard of for an employee to be eligible if they hurt themselves while attending a continuing education seminar while at a different facility, delivering a package for their employer or carrying out almost any other task that a worker’s employer required them to do.
Determining whether you’re eligible for workers’ comp benefits
Pennsylvania legislators are clear in defining who may be eligible for benefits. Your employer may not be forthright with you about whether they carry such coverage and how you can tap in to it if they do, though.
A workers’ compensation attorney can arm you with the right questions to ask to determine whether your employer is required to provide you with coverage or aid you in deciding what steps to pursue if you’re having difficulty getting the benefits to which you’re entitled.
