Who's covered?

• Author: Cunningham, Josh
• Position: WORKERS' COMPENSATION - Impact of COVID-19 pandemic

An important employment issue that has arisen in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis is whether workers' compensation comes into play for employees infected with the virus.

Workers' compensation covers medical expenses and lost wages when workers become injured or ill as a direct result of their job. But, generally, it does not cover routine community-spread illnesses such as the cold or flu because those conditions cannot be directly tied to the workplace. Severe respiratory illnesses among firefighters and other first responders, however, are presumed to be work related and covered by workers' compensation in at least 20 states.

So, should COVID-19 be treated differently than a cold or flu? Without state intervention, perhaps. The determination would likely be made on a case-by-case basis by the workers' compensation insurer and may depend on specific circumstances, such as who infected the worker and...