Workers’ compensation first appeared in the U.S. in the 1930s and 1940s. This insurance pays monetary benefits to workers who become injured or disabled in the course of their employment. Sick pay may qualify as workers’ compensation under certain conditions.
You do everything you can to keep your employees safe on the job. Still, an accident can happen when you least expect it. Just one injury can sideline an employee for months, leading to serious financial hardship. And since fault does not matter when it comes to workplace injuries, you may be responsible for an employee injured on the job.
Fortunately there is a way to protect your business from a lawsuit and your employees from loss of income. Workers’ compensation should not be confused with disability insurance or unemployment income; it only pays workers who are injured on the job, while disability insurance pays out regardless of when or where the insured is injured or disabled. Workers’ compensation also does not cover unemployment. Unlike unemployment income or disability benefits, workers’ compensation is always tax-free.
Workers’ compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee’s right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence. The tradeoff between assured, limited coverage and lack of recourse outside the worker compensation system is known as “the compensation bargain”.