Am I Eligible For Workers’ Compensation If I Work From Home?

Suffering a serious workplace injury at any type of worksite can be both debilitating and demoralizing, even if you are relatively certain that you will be able to seek workers’ compensation benefits. Yet some employees worry that their work circumstances will make a workers’ compensation claim more difficult, or that they will need to provide additional evidence in order to prove that they are eligible for compensation for a variety of reasons. We often hear concerns about workers’ compensation eligibility for workers who work from home in Pennsylvania. If you work from home and get hurt while you are performing job-related tasks, can you seek workers’ compensation benefits?

Generally speaking, Pennsylvania workers’ compensation law does allow employees that work remotely or from home to be eligible for benefits. Our Harrisburg workers’ compensation attorneys can evaluate your work related injury whether it occurs at home or on an Employers’ property.

Employee Protections Are Not Confined to the Employer’s Physical Place of Business 

An employee’s ability to obtain workers’ compensation for an on-the-job injury does not require the employee’s injury to have occurred at the employer’s physical place of business. To be sure, employees who work from home can be eligible to obtain workers’ compensation benefits under Pennsylvania law, but the injury must have occurred while the employee was “engaged in the furtherance of the business or affairs of the employer, whether upon the employer’s premises or elsewhere.”

You should always work with a Harrisburg workers’ compensation attorney who can gather evidence to prove that your injury occurred at home while you were engaged in work-related duties. For example, if an injury occurs while you are away from your computer while you are answering the door or pouring a glass of water in your kitchen, it may be difficult to prove that your injury was work-related even if it was during your regular working hours. Our workers’ compensation lawyers can help with the process of proving that you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for a work-from-home injury.

Working from Home is Different from Traveling for Work 

We do want to make clear that work-from-home employees are distinct from employees who are traveling for work when it comes to seeking financial compensation for injuries. Employees that are traveling for their jobs have very broad protections under Pennsylvania law when it comes to seeking workers’ compensation benefits for injuries sustained while they are traveling. To be clear, if an employee is traveling for work, that employee does not necessarily need to be involved in a work-related task when an injury occurs in order to be eligible for compensation. The entire work trip is, in effect, treated as being on the job.

Differently, working from home requires the employee to be able to show that the injury happened while the employee was “engaged in the furtherance of the business or affairs of the employer,” as we noted above.

Seek Advice from a Harrisburg Workers’ Compensation Lawyer 

If you were injured while working from home, our experienced Harrisburg workers’ compensation attorneys can help you to seek the compensation you need. Contact Ira H. Weinstock, P.C. today to learn more about how our firm can assist you.