| Workers' Compensation Award Credit for Actual Earnings |
| In some instances, an injured employee will return to his former position and resume making the same earnings as before the injury. When such an individual has received a workers' compensation benefit, the question arises whether the employer is entitled to a credit on the amount of benefits that were paid to the employee. If the employer paid the employee's wages, intending such wages to take the place of any benefit compensation, then the employer would be entitled to a credit. However, there is rarely direct evidence of the employer's intention in this regard.More... |
| Types of workers compensation laws |
| Applicability of the LHWCA requires that the situs and status tests be met, i.e. the injury must have occurred on United States navigable waters or adjoining area by a maritime worker as specified in the LHWCA. It appears that the LHWCA was conceived to fill a gap in workers' compensation coverage by providing benefits to those employees who were not injured on land, which would then be covered under the applicable state's Workers' Compensation Act. However, the expansion of the interpretation as to what is the "adjoining area" of navigable waters has allowed for conflicts of law questions to arise for maritime workers. Caselaw suggests that when the LHWCA does not clearly apply under the status and situs tests, each case will be examined on its own facts to determine the source of the injured employee's benefits. Notably, Louisiana denies state workers' compensation benefits to an employee who is covered by the LHWCA.More... |
| Employer's Indemnification of Third Party |
| Generally, workers' compensation is the exclusive way to hold an employer liable for an employee's injury. However, the "exclusiveness" principle will give way in the face of an express contractual provision that the employer will indemnify a third party for payments it is required to make to an injured employee. For example, consider the employer who leases heavy construction equipment from an equipment rental facility. The lease agreement may contain a clause providing that, if a worker of the employer is injured while operating the equipment, the employer will wholly indemnify the equipment rental facility for any damages the facility is called upon to pay to the worker.More... |
| Public Employment |
| All states provide some measure of workers' compensation coverage for those individuals employed in the public sector. Most states provide protection generally for all public employees. Others, however, identify specifically those public occupations for which coverage is extended. There are several key occupations for which coverage is often extended. These include sheriffs and police officers, firefighters, teachers, and National Guard personnel.More... |
| Obtaining Workers' Compensation Benefits |
| Obtaining Workers' Compensation BenefitsMore... |
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