WORK AT HOME LIABILITY

PRINCIPLES OF COMPENSABILITY BY GREGORY B. CAIRNS, ESQ. CAIRNS & ASSOCIATES, P.C E. MEXICO AVE., SUITE 300 DENVER, CO MAIN: CELL; FAX: Gregory Cairns, Esq All Rights Reserved 2014

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

RULES Answer True or False or It Depends You can have – –2 lifelines –1 50/50 –2 audience votes Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

1. The “going and coming” rule means that, generally speaking, a worker is NOT covered for workers’ compensation while traveling to and from work. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

2. An exception to the “going and coming” rule can occur when the worker is traveling in a company- owned vehicle. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

3. An exception to the “going and coming” rule can occur when the worker is traveling in company-provided transportation, such as subsidized busing or employer organized ride pools. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

4. An exception to the “going and coming” rule can occur when the employee is directed to perform company business on the ride to or from work, such as picking up doughnuts, company mail, office supplies, or a piece of equipment to be used at work. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

5. Another exception to the going and coming rule occurs when the “hazards of the route” to or from work are unusual, causing injury. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

6. An employee who calls into work on his cell phone while driving to work that he is going to be late, is distracted, and has an accident, is covered for workers’ compensation. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY It Depends

7. A Denver employee who is text messaging to his supervisor while driving to work that he will be late for work, is distracted, and has an accident, is covered for workers’ compensation. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY False

8. An employee who is reading a report while driving to work to prepare for a meeting that morning at work, is distracted, and has an accident, is covered for workers’ compensation. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY False

9. An exception to the “going and coming” rule is the “parking lot injury” doctrine, which holds that an injury in the parking lot where the employee is required to park is compensable, even if the employer does not own/manage/supervise or otherwise control the parking lot. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

10. An injury to an employee which occurs on the most direct or required route between the parking lot and the office/factory/warehouse/store is usually compensable. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

11. An exception to the “parking lot injury” rule occurs when the employee deviates from the direct route to the office/factory/ warehouse/store to perform a personal errand. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

12. An exception to the “parking lot injury” rule occurs when the claimant is engaged in horseplay in the parking lot, leading to injury. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

13. When a worker is injured in a parking lot or access route which is not owned/managed/supervised by the employer, the employer/insurer can seek subrogation from the third party who was negligent in maintaining the parking lot or access route. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

14. The “travel status” rule means that, generally speaking, injuries which occur while the worker is assigned duties away from the employer’s base location are compensable. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

15. An exception to the “travel status” rule occurs when the worker has engaged in a purely personal errand which causes him/her to deviate from his/her work duties. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

16. If an employee on travel status has gone off on a purely personal errand, but then is injured while returning to the location where he/she is supposed to be, the injury is compensable. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

17. The “dual purpose” or “ mixed purpose” doctrine holds that an injury is compensable if it occurs to an employee while engaged in an activity which benefits both the employer and the employee. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

18. Injuries while working at home can be analyzed by reference to the dual purpose doctrine; if working at home is exclusively or primarily for the convenience of the employee, the injury is NOT compensable. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

19. Probable liability for injuries while working at home can be predicted by reference to a continuum ranging from 100% “employee benefit” to 100% “employer benefit”; the more the working at home is for the benefit of the employer, the more likely an injury at home will be compensated. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY FALSE 50/ % employer benefit 100 % employee benefit

20. If an employer provides a telephone line, computer, or other office equipment to an employee to be used at home, the house may be considered a work site, and an injury incurred there is compensable, absent special circumstances. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

21. Any injury occurring to a telecommuting employee while working at home is probably compensable as long as the injury occurs during work hours, in an area of the home where the employee can reasonably be expected to be working, and while the employee is not engaging in a purely personal errand or in a prohibited activity. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

22. When a compensable injury occurs to a telecommuting employee due to the negligence or intentional act of a third party, subrogation is available. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

23. One way to limit liability for telecommuting injuries is to perform in- home inspections to ensure that the work station is ergonomically correct and to assess what are the areas of the home which may be reasonably considered “work areas.” WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

24. One of the best ways to avoid liability for telecommuting injuries (or travel status injuries generally) is to define by written policy exactly what activities are required, what activities are prohibited, where the employee is expected to work, and what are the hours during which the worker may work. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

25. One way to limit liability for injuries occurring while going to or coming from work is to have a written policy which states that the employee is prohibited from performing any “duties of employment” while traveling to or from work, including telephoning, texting, tweeting, etc., into the office or to other employees (regardless of their location) about work topics. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

26. An employer who does not limit hours of work for a non-salaried, disgruntled, telecommuting employee may wind up with a U.S or Colorado Department of Labor and Employment citation for failing to pay overtime. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY “Don’t worry about it. If at first we don’t succeed, we can do it later and get paid time-and-a- half for it.” True

27. If an employee is a telecommuter, then an injury occurring on the way to or from the “at-home office” to the “base office” (employer’s primary location) is probably compensable if there is a specific business purpose for the trip. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

28. An employer may have liability for the accident of a delivery man for an office supply company who is injured when he slips on an employee’s son’s skateboard in the driveway of the employee’s home at the time he is delivering office supplies ordered by the employer. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY It Depends

29. An injury which occurs while an employee is on a break which they take on the employer’s premises is NOT compensable, absent special circumstances. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY FALSE

30. An employee who works out of his/her home who leaves that home to go to lunch or other break and is subsequently injured will NOT receive workers’ compensation benefits, absent special circumstances. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

31. The “imported danger” doctrine holds that an employee who brings the cause of his accident onto the premises for his own purposes does NOT receive workers’ compensation benefits. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

32. If an employee with a bad cold which he got from his toddler takes too much Nyquil before coming to work, passes out on work premises, and falls down some stairs, he may NOT receive workers’ compensation benefits. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY True

33. A telecommuting employee who, after eating a medical marijuana brownie, passes out, falls down the stairs in the middle of his/her work day, can receive full workers’ compensation benefits. WORK AT HOME LIABILITY It Depends