Workers’ Compensation for Traveling Employees

Workers' Compensation Coverage for Traveling Employees

Here are the things to consider when determining whether you may qualify as a traveling employee eligible for worker's compensation.

Type of Work Performed

The first element to consider is the type of work being performed. If travel is an inherent part of the work then that will strongly weigh in the favor of the employee. For example, a delivery driver who runs all over town or even all over a broader delivery route will likely be found to still be in the course of their employment when they drive their company vehicle home from the last delivery site. This is an expected part of the job.

In contrast, the factory worker who drives to the same location every day is likely not within the course of their employment during an automobile accident. Determining what counts and what doesn’t count as traveling employment is no longer as clear as it once was. The courts have ruled again and again in favor of the injured worker as they have slowly expanded these definitions. For example, an office employee who is asked to pick up donuts for the office before coming to work is likely within the course of her employment while driving from her home to the bakery. The possibilities are almost endless and can require an expert to distinguish.

Where the Work is Being Performed

The second element to consider is where the work is being performed. The courts have repeatedly found that an employee working offsite can be considered a traveling employee and thus any injury that occurs may be a work-related injury (check our article on offsite workers' comp). This might apply equally to f the carpenter traveling to a job site in another county as well as to an employee who is loaned out to another store for a limited duration. The key is that the work is performed away from the employer’s regular place of business or specifically away from where the employee’s normal workstation is located.

Traveling Employee Workers' Comp & Personal Comfort

The final element can be one that is most counter-intuitive. It has been a long-standing principle in Illinois that an employer benefits from their employee doing certain things for personal comfort. Examples of this might include something as mundane as using the bathroom. This principle gets expanded greatly when an employee is traveling for work. It is necessary and desirable for the employer that a traveling employee eat meals and even partake in some recreational activities. Thus if your job has you away from home, almost any reasonable activity that you participate in may be covered as a work injury.

Parsing out what is and what is not covered can be a challenge, especially given how the courts have continued to change the definitions. While the changes have overall been beneficial to the injured worker, many employers still respond based upon outdated models. This can lead to denied claims and employees who take on the responsibility for their own injuries rather than getting the coverage provided to them by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act.

If you have questions regarding workers' compensation for traveling employees, it is always a good idea to seek out a free consultation from qualified workers' compensation lawyers, such as those at Strong Law Offices.