| Did you know?
Part-time workers are covered under work comp
During the summer months, schools often employ part-time help. But do you know how workers' compensation works into play if a part-time employee is hurt?
How benefits work
A part-time employee who is injured and unable to work is entitled to the same workers' compensation wage-loss benefit as a full-time employee--that is, two-thirds of the employee's average weekly wage, or a weekly minimum amount set by state law.
They, like full-time employees, are also eligible for a dollar amount that compensates for a permanent physical impairment.
But part-time employees can present a different variety of situations.
Second job?
It makes a difference if your injured part-time employee has a second job with another employer. If a work injury prevents him from working both jobs, then under state law he is entitled to two-thirds of his combined average weekly wages at both jobs. If his injury happened at your school, then it's your workers' compensation policy that's liable for covering the wage-replacement benefit for both jobs.
If the work injury prevents him from working just one job--whether it's his job at your school or his second job elsewhere--then he is entitled to wage-replacement benefits for missed time at that job.
A strategy that works
Some schools offer increased hours to a part-time worker who's become injured and unable to work at his other job. That reduces the amount of work comp wage-replacement benefits and their impact on the liable employer's work comp premium.
Another good idea
Provide part-time employees, whether temporary or long-term, the training they need to make smart decisions about safety. Knowledge is power. Prevention is your first line of defense.
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