| Time Requirements Related to Occupational Diseases |
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| With respect to occupational diseases, there are several applicable time restraints including the time between exposure and disability, minimum time periods for exposure, and minimum time periods for an employee's residency. These time requirements vary markedly by state. The limitations period for occupational disease claims also varies widely. Some states bar the receipt of death benefits unless the claim is brought within a specified time after exposure. The majority of states take the view that the limitations period does not begin to run until such time that the claimant had knowledge of his condition and its relationship to his employment. Still another viewpoint on the limitations period is that it begins to run when the employee has become disabled as a result of the disease and with reasonable diligence could discover that the condition is compensable. More... |
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| Social Security Disability Payments and Representative Payees |
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| When a Social Security disability beneficiary is a minor child or legally incompetent adult, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will select a representative payee to manage the beneficiary's disability payments. A representative payee, who can be either an individual or an organization, is charged with the responsibility of disbursing the funds for the beneficiary's present needs and saving any remaining funds for the future. Payment of the beneficiary's "needs" should include food, clothing, shelter, utilities, dental and medical care, and personal comfort items. More... |
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| Domestic Servant Exemption |
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| Workers' compensation coverage for domestic servants is limited. Such limitation is generally based on the exclusion for part-time employees or the statutory exemption for employers with less than the requisite minimum number of employees. Many states specifically exclude domestic servants from workers' compensation coverage. Others omit to place domestic servants on the list of covered employments. However, almost half of the states provide at least a measure of coverage for those employed as domestic servants. More... |
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| Employee Misconduct That Does and Does Not Deviate From Employment |
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| When an employee engages in misconduct, his receipt of workers' compensation benefits can be jeopardized depending on whether such misconduct constituted a deviation from his course of employment. If the employee has deviated from the course of employment, and is then injured, he will generally be denied benefits. Prohibited conduct is a marker for misconduct. It is only that prohibited conduct concerning the employee's fundamental job for which he was employed that will affect compensation eligibility. Even though prohibited, conduct that merely violates the way or means that an employee uses to accomplish his job duties is still within the course of his employment. More... |
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| Employee's Failure to Obey Safety Rules as Statutory Defense |
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| When an employee claims workers' compensation benefits are due to him based on an injury that occurred on the job, many states allow an employer to defend itself by presenting evidence that the employee wilfully disobeyed the employer's prescribed safety rules or purposefully neglected to use a safety device. Although in rare cases the defense represents a complete bar to the employee's recovery of benefits, usually the employee's recovery is just subject to a reduction. More... |
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