Workers' Compensation Laws

Workers' Compensation Laws

Workers' compensation laws are designed to ensure payment by employers for some part of the cost of injuries, or in some cases of occupational diseases, received by employees in the course of their work. Worker's compensation legislation requires the employer to furnish a reasonably safe place to work, suitable equipment, rules and instructions when they are reasonably necessary, and reasonably competent foremen and superintendents.

The employer is liable for an employee's acts of negligence, for the employer's own gross negligence, and for extraordinary risks of work. In most cases the employer is not liable for accidents occurring outside the place of work, or for those which have not arisen directly from employment.

State Workers' Compensation Laws

State workers' compensation statutes vary by state. The Federal Employment Compensation Act covers non-military federal employees or those workers employed in some significant aspect of interstate commerce. These laws also provide benefits for dependents of those workers who are killed because of work-related accidents or illnesses. Some laws also protect employers and fellow workers by limiting the amount an injured employee can recover from an employer and by eliminating the liability of co-workers in most accidents.

Other statutes provide similar protection to employees for injuries due to employer negligence, such as railroad employees under The Federal Employment Liability Act (FELA), and seamen under The Merchant Marine Act (the Jones Act). The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA) provides workers' compensation to specified employees of private maritime employers. The Black Lung Benefits Act provides compensation for miners suffering from "black lung" (pneumoconiosis).

Employer Willful Misconduct

An employer who was aware of the likelihood that his employee will be injured in the performance of his work unless precautions are taken for his safety but deliberately fails to take such precautions, is liable for willful misconduct. Willful misconduct by an employee may bar recovery under workers' compensation laws. Willful misconduct is judged according to the facts in each case, but generally amounts to more than negligence or gross negligence, and may be quasi-criminal.

For example, one court held that an employee’s acts of sexual harassment constituted "intentional and willful misconduct" under the Worker's Compensation statute. It found that the employee "knew what he was doing was wrong" and yet he persisted. The employee’s behavior was labelled "voluntary, crude, and unprofessional" and it was determined that there was a sufficient basis for finding that the employee’s behavior rose to the level of moral turpitude that could be called "intentional and willful."

Hawaii Workers' Compensation Laws

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