Month: March 2020

Information for employers: Injuries while working from home

Posted on by Patty Busse

By Aaron Schmidt, Esq.

With more employees working from home due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak, many policyholders have turned to SFM for answers on liability questions concerning the home office. 

As a starting point, many state courts view the home office as an extension of the workplace. 

In general, injuries sustained by an employee during normal working hours, and during the actual performance of work activities while at home are compensable. This does not, however, mean that injuries sustained by employees in a home office at the employee’s residence are necessarily afforded the same presumption of work relatedness as injuries occurring at the employer’s office. Therefore a careful analysis of the facts is necessary. 

Activities such as maintaining and setting up a home office, snow blowing a driveway, and shoveling snow from the driveway to allow for business travel have been found to be compensable in some states. Furthermore, the travel between an employee’s home and another portion of the employment premises have also been found compensable. 

It is important to note as well that the personal comfort doctrine, which holds compensable injuries sustained on the employer’s premises while attending to personal needs and comforts, has been extended to employees in some states where they were injured in their own homes while on breaks from work in their home office.  As an example, Minnesota courts have found compensable an employee that was injured when he fell down the stairs after leaving his home office on the way to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee.

To learn more about this topic, see our workers’ compensation and the home office telecommuter blog post.

SFM also has a number of other resources related to telecommuting and COVID-19 on our COVID-19 resources page.

This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for your employment practices.

Cumulative injury coverage under workers’ comp

Posted on by Patty Busse

Some work injuries don’t occur at a specific time, but rather they are the result of a degenerative process that takes place over months or years. These are known as repetitive-motion or cumulative injuries.

In Minnesota, they are called “Gillette” injuries, a term that comes from the 1960 Minnesota Supreme Court case of Gillette v. Harold, Inc.

The Gillette case involved an employee who worked as a sales clerk at Harold Department Store. She underwent surgery on her left big toe for a condition that wasn’t work-related. Two months after the surgery, she returned to work and was performing all of her regular duties, which required her to be on her feet most of the day. As time went by, she experienced increasing pain in her right toe. Eventually her doctor said she couldn’t work because the prolonged walking and standing her job required was aggravating her toe. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that the employee had sustained an injury that was compensable and defined a Gillette injury as, “a personal injury arising out of and in the course of employment as a result of the cumulative effect of repetitive minute trauma over a period of time.”

Deciding whether a compensable cumulative injury has occurred

To determine whether a Gillette injury has occurred, the court looks at:

  • The employee’s specific work activity.
  • How that work activity affects the employee.
  • The symptoms the employee experienced in doing the work over and over.
  • The physician’s opinion as to whether the employee’s work activity was a substantial contributing factor to his or her injury.

Determining the date of injury

Even though a cumulative injury isn’t the result of a specific incident, determining a date of injury is still required. The date of injury is significant because it is typically the insurer covering the employer at the date of injury that is responsible for providing workers’ compensation benefits. The general rule holds that a Gillette injury has not occurred or “culminated” until the employee has either lost time from work, required a change of duties because of his or her physical condition or sought medical treatment. There are frequent exceptions to this rule depending on the facts of each individual case.

For more information on Gillette injuries, download the following SFM resources:

This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for your employment practices.

Ergonomic and safety tips when working from home

Posted on by Patty Busse

By Stacie Goodrich, M.A., OTR/L, CDMS, QRC

Whether you work from home occasionally or exclusively, it’s worth taking a little time to set up your space in a way that allows you to be safe working from home and have a comfortable work set-up.

Follow these guidelines to avoid pain and strain while working from home.

Set up desk space to support neutral posture

Do your best to find a chair that supports your back, and positions you with at least a 90-degree angle at your hips. If available, use a table or desk surface that allows you to maintain a 90-degree angle at your elbows. Refer to our Ergonomic Workstation Education handout for the ideal positioning.

Ergonomic recommendations for laptops

The ergonomic challenge with laptops is that because the screen and keyboard are attached, using a laptop for a long time requires you to make a tradeoff between using a neutral head/neck posture and hand/wrist posture. Using a separate keyboard, mouse and monitor can help combat this.

Follow these recommendations when using a laptop to avoid pain and strain:

  • Find a comfortable chair that supports your back
  • Monitor your hand/wrist posture and height (see the Ergonomic Workstation Education handout for proper positioning)
  • Angle the laptop screen allowing for optimal viewing with your neck in as neutral alignment as possible
  • Use a separate keyboard, mouse and monitor, if available
  • Plan for frequent positional changes and postural breaks to allow for muscle recovery

Avoid neck strain when using your phone

If you use your phone often when working from home, use a headset or the speaker phone option to prevent neck strain. Avoid cradling a handset or mobile phone between your shoulder and head.

Take breaks often to move and stretch

Take frequent breaks to change up your posture and stretch throughout the workday. This is key to working comfortably for long periods of time.

Check out the videos on our Get Up & Move page to learn simple stretches that you can do during quick breaks throughout the workday.

Incorporate exercise throughout your workday by taking a few 10-minute walks. Remember that exercise is cumulative, so three 10-minute walks are just as beneficial as one 30-minute walk.

Check your home office environment for hazards

When working in an office, you likely have others examining the space for safety hazards, but when working from home, that is most likely up to you.

Check your surrounding environment for safety hazards:

  • Ensure the area surrounding your home workspace is free from clutter and tripping hazards
  • Evaluate your workspace for adequate lighting and position screens/monitors to minimize glare
  • Ensure your environment is free of excessive noise and private enough for you to work securely

Working from home should not be any less safe or comfortable than being in an office environment. Thinking through these considerations can help you stay free of pains and strains after a day at the home office.

Even unpaid interns may be eligible for workers’ comp

Posted on by Patty Busse

Remember when you were willing to work for little or no pay just to get some “real-world” experience in your chosen field?

If your organization helps students and recent graduates gain work experience by offering internships, be aware that even unpaid interns could be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.

Paid interns are almost always covered by your workers’ compensation policy. Statutes and case law relating to unpaid interns vary by state.

A key issue in determining compensability is whether the student is under the control of the employer as far as work schedule and duties as well as the presence of room, board or other allowances. If so, that could give legal grounds to identify the unpaid intern as an employee.

Unpaid intern or volunteer?

Another issue is differentiating between an unpaid intern and a volunteer. While unpaid interns may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, volunteers generally aren’t. Interns are typically characterized as advanced students or recent graduates who are learning a professional field.

Some states get specific on interns who qualify for workers’ comp

Some state laws specifically list certain types of interns who are eligible for workers’ compensation.

For example, Minnesota law specifically states that, for purposes of workers’ compensation, student teachers are considered employees of the schools where they’re working. South Dakota law  stipulates that vocational program students working off school premises are considered school employees unless the offsite organization where they are working pays them or otherwise elects to cover them.

Contract between school and workplace key

When there’s a question whether an intern is eligible for workers’ comp, SFM’s attorneys often look to the contract between the intern’s school and the organization where the intern is working. In some cases, the contract explicitly states that the employer will provide workers’ compensation coverage. 

Related resource:

This fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Labor provides general information to determine whether interns must be paid minimum wage and overtime.

This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for your employment practices.

Risks and benefits of standing workstations

Posted on by Patty Busse

Reports of the hazards of a sedentary lifestyle seem to be everywhere, and some workers are refusing to take the news sitting down.

Now that the traditional “desk and chair” workstation has been cast as the office villain, a variety of alternatives have emerged. In some workplaces, traditional seated workstations are giving way to configurations in which the user stands or moves while working. Standing desks or sit/stand workstations are becoming an increasingly common option, and some have taken it even further by combining desks with exercise devices like treadmills or balance balls.

As employers consider adopting these devices, questions about safety are emerging.

Is the employer liable if someone gets hurt while using an alternative workstation?

If a worker becomes injured while using an exercise device, the question of liability traditionally hinges on the notion of “voluntary use.” If an exercise device is sponsored by the employer as part of a voluntary recreational program, then liability for an injury that occurs while using it would typically rest with the worker. The liability can shift to the employer in cases where the alternative workstation is a job requirement or is put in place as part of an approved medical treatment plan for the employee.

In general, the best approach is to leave the decision to use an alternative workstation to the discretion of the employee. For a definitive recommendation regarding any issues of liability, it’s always best to consult an attorney who specializes in employment law in your state.

Are alternative workstations such as standing desks safe?

When used correctly, these devices can certainly be a component of a safe workplace. It’s important to make sure the equipment is installed properly so it doesn’t place the user in a position that could lead to injury or stress. As with traditional desks and chairs, any new workstations should undergo an on-site ergonomic evaluation and be monitored for continued safety.

The key to counteracting the perils of working in the same position all day is to build frequent variety of movement into the daily routine.

In addition to recommending general ergonomic precautions, safety experts have identified some specific risks:

  • Standing workstations: Standing is more tiring than sitting, and standing all day comes with its own health risks. Prolonged standing places a greater strain on the circulatory system, as well as on the legs and feet.
  • Treadmill desks: Proper positioning of the treadmill is an important consideration. An improperly placed device can launch a worker who stops walking into a wall or other impediment.
  • Balance balls: While a certain amount of instability is inherent to a balance ball, too much instability presents a risk of falling. Factors to consider are whether the ball is inflated properly, and whether the device is surrounded by a frame.

Are they effective?

Standing desks and alternative workstations can definitely be helpful if used as part of an overall campaign to encourage workers to move. The key to counteracting the perils of working in the same position all day is to build frequent variety of movement into the daily routine.

Alternative workstations can help, but they shouldn’t be viewed as the sole remedy. Without continued encouragement from the employer to stay active, workers often fall back into their low-motion routines. By itself, no device constitutes a simple way to reverse the negative effects of sitting still at a desk all day. Building movement into the day should be the goal.

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