Workers Compensation Newsletters

Workers' Compensation

Workers' compensation is an employer-provided benefit that exists to aid an employee or his dependents in the event that the employee is injured or killed on the job. Workers' compensation is governed by each state's laws, but the general consensus is that eligibility for such benefits turns on whether the employee suffered an accidental injury that arose out of and in the course of his employment or an occupational disease.

Mental and Nervous Injury

Generally, a worker's injury that occurs in the course of his employment is compensable even though it is a mental or nervous injury as opposed to a physical one. With causation and "arising out of the employment" issues dispensed with, the majority of states find that a mental condition, which causes a physical injury, is compensable. For example, a worker is frightened by a sudden event or accident and immediately thereafter suffers a heart attack. Compensability is no less viable when the mental stimulus is sustained over a period of time. For example, an employee who over the course of months is so pressured by the demands of his employer and his position that, even though relatively young, he suffers a heart attack.

Employee Misconduct That Does and Does Not Deviate From Employment

When an employee engages in misconduct, his receipt of workers' compensation benefits can be jeopardized depending on whether such misconduct constituted a deviation from his course of employment. If the employee has deviated from the course of employment, and is then injured, he will generally be denied benefits. Prohibited conduct is a marker for misconduct. It is only that prohibited conduct concerning the employee's fundamental job for which he was employed that will affect compensation eligibility. Even though prohibited, conduct that merely violates the way or means that an employee uses to accomplish his job duties is still within the course of his employment.

Effect of Incarceration on Social Security Benefits

An individual who resides in a penal institution such as a jail or prison for a full calendar month can no longer receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. Individuals who are incarcerated must notify the Social Security Administration (SSA) of their changed status with respect to the incarceration. Payments that are received in the face of a jail term lasting longer than a month will be considered overpayments and must be repaid. Though a prisoner's social security benefits are suspended while he remains incarcerated, the payment of benefits to his eligible family members will be unaffected. With respect to SSDI benefits, individuals who are in jail awaiting trial will continue to receive their benefits until such time that they are convicted.

Recreational and Social Activities

Within the Course of Employment)