Workers’ compensation and at-home employees

Many Minnesota companies started requiring their employees to work remotely in 2020. This year, the trend of remote work is continuing, and many more jobs may shift to remote offices. But all this working from home brings up new questions about workers’ compensation and what qualifies as a work-related injury.

Employers must provide a safe work environment

Whether your office is downtown or in your living room, your employer has a duty to ensure that your work environment is safe. In fact, employment law doesn’t view at-home offices differently from shared offices when it comes to workers’ compensation claims. If you sustain a workplace injury, it makes no difference where your office is located.

Safety considerations for at-home offices

Employers have a lot to be worried about when it comes to liability for at-home work injuries. When employers are working from home, there is little oversight by the employer. The worker could be forgetting to take breaks, not eating lunch, or walking back and forth in a cluttered environment.

Another major concern about at-home offices is the office furniture that is being used. If a worker doesn’t have an ergonomic desk and chair, he or she could suffer from musculoskeletal injuries over time. Employers may actually save money in the long term by supplying their at-home employees with office furniture.

Considerations for at-home employees

While your at-home work injuries should be compensable, there are some issues to be aware of. For example, if you suffer from a work-related injury at your home, there may have been no witnesses to verify what happened. One way to remedy this problem could be to install a security camera in your home. It’s also a good idea to report any work injury to your employer as quickly as possible.