Let’s say you’re at work at a bagel shop and you’re a silly goose who, for some reason, decided to stick your hand in the bagel slicer a little too far. Ouch, right? Well, you didn’t just qualify for stitches, you just qualified for workers compensation. Yay!
If you’ve been injured on the job, chances are you’ve heard of workers’ compensation. This form of insurance allows for injured workers to receive medical benefits, wage replacement, vocational rehabilitation like physical therapy, or other benefits employers may offer. These benefits exist to help workers maintain an income as they recover from a work-related injury. They also serve to protect employers from lawsuits that workers would otherwise pursue in order to be made whole. Workers’ comp is a win-win for everyone involved – it maintains stability as it provides a safety net for workers injured on the job and it keeps employers safe from liability. We love a win-win.
The Kind of Workers’ Comp Benefits
Medical Coverage
This is the most obvious benefit. If you’re injured at your workplace, hell, if you’re injured anywhere, you seek medical treatment. Workers’ comp covers the cost of medical treatment. That includes doctor’s visits, hospital stays, surgeries, medications, and rehab services such as physical therapy. It’s the closest us Americans will get to universal healthcare, all you have to do is be injured. Neat!
Wage Replacement
If you’re too injured to work, you need to be compensated for the time spent recovering. This is either a partial or full wage replacement depending on the state regulations and your job’s policies. This ensures employees are able to maintain some kind of stability since they are unable to work.
Disability Benefits
There are a couple types of disability benefits. These are payments by the government to people who are disabled and unable to work and need to maintain an income and range from temporary to permanent benefits depending on the severity of the injury or disability.
Temporary Total Disability (TTD): Benefits for employees who are temporarily unable to work.
Temporary Partial Disability (TPD): Benefits for employees who can return to work but at a reduced capacity or for fewer hours.
Permanent Total Disability (PTD): Benefits for employees who are permanently unable to work in any capacity.
Permanent Partial Disability (PPD): Benefits for employees who suffer permanent impairment but can still work in some capacity.
Vocational Rehabilitation
Vocational Rehabilitation, not to be confused with vacational rehabilitation (which is not a real thing, it just felt funny to mention), is a process that enables injured or disabled persons with functional, physical, psychological, cognitive, or emotional disabilities or impairments to recover with the aid and guidance of licensed professionals. Through physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, or other recovery methods, people suffering from serious injury or disability can receive these benefits as part of their workers’ comp.
Death Benefits
If the worst should happen and there is a family or spouse that depends on that income, workers’ compensation can also extend to the deceased worker’s family so they may maintain some kind of stability going forward. This can include funeral expenses and ongoing support for a limited time depending on the employers’ policies and state regulations.
State-Specific Regulations
While there are some fundamental principles of workers’ comp that remain consistent (medical bills covered, wage replacement, etc.), plenty of regulations and benefits vary by state. For example:
California offers extensive benefits that heavily favor the worker. Benefits include comprehensive medical coverage, temporary and permanent disability benefits, and vocational rehab. Employers are required by law to provide workers’ comp.
Texas, always desperate to maintain their “Lone Star State” branding, allows employers to opt out of workers’ compensation, which makes it much harder for employees to guarantee stability in their lives if they are injured on the job. If companies do choose to engage in the smarter option and offer these benefits, they have to follow the same regulations as required by law.
Pennsylvania operates like most states when it comes to offering workers’ compensation. The commonwealth requires that employers carry workers’ comp insurance if they employ at least one employee and will be penalized if they fail to provide coverage. The details can be worked out if you need to consult a Philadelphia workers’ comp attorney. Sometimes employers try to get away with not having insurance. They don’t usually fare well.
A Safety Net That Is Good for Everyone
We’re lucky to have a safety net program like workers’ compensation. Workers injured or who have caught a disease while on or because of their job (hello COVID) ought to be able to maintain an income and employers ought not to have their company or business at risk if they are sued by an injured employee. This program keeps everyone stable as people recover through no fault of their own. Workers’ comp protects employees, we ought to protect workers’ comp.
