Traveling Employees

Generally, if an employee is required to travel as a part of his employment, he is covered by workers' compensation for the duration of the trip. There is a distinct exception to this rule when the employee markedly departs from the business trip to attend to a personal matter. In those jurisdictions following the majority rule for compensability above, an employee will usually be covered for an injury resulting from, for example, sleeping in a hotel or eating in a restaurant.

Violation of Law or Commission of Crime

As a general rule, an employee is not necessarily withdrawn from workers' compensation eligibility if he is injured while violating a law or committing a crime in furtherance of his job duties. Most often, the violation of a law or commission of a crime will affect an employee's receipt of benefits if, in the applicable state, it constitutes "wilful misconduct" or is the subject of its very own statutory provision giving a defense to the employer. The violation of a statute does not ipso facto equal "wilful misconduct." Rather, flagrancy and knowledge on the part of the employee are generally required for an act to rise to the level of "wilful."

Student Status and Social Security Benefits

The status of an individual as a full-time student can affect his eligibility for social security benefits. A child who is disabled or blind may receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The Social Security Administration's (SSA) definition of "child" includes an individual who is under age twenty-two and is a full-time student. The key difference between the recovery of benefits for a child versus an adult is that there is a different "disability" criterion. Adult claimants must prove that a medically determinable impairment prohibits them from engaging in substantial gainful activity while children must only show a medically determinable impairment that results in severe functional limitations.

Traveling To and From Work

Employees do not only suffer injuries while actively in the service of their employer. Some injuries occur outside working hours while the employee is traveling to or from work. Workers' compensation for such injuries may be recovered only if they occur on the employer's premises. The employer's "premises" is not just that area in which the employee normally works or where the majority of work performed for the employer takes place. Rather, "premises" encompasses the entire grounds of the employer including all buildings and structures thereon as well as parking lots. Generally, compensation will be denied if the employee was injured elsewhere. Additionally, this "going and coming" rule for compensability is only applicable when the employee has established working hours and a set working location.

Representation and the SSDI Process

When a claimant seeks social security disability benefits, he may select an individual to represent him in that endeavor. The representative may act on the claimant's behalf at all levels of the administrative proceedings. However, accepting the representation responsibilities does not entitle the representative to a fee for his services absent approval by the Social Security Administration (SSA).