| Acts Outside Employee's Regular Duties That Benefit Others |
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| When an employee acts to benefit his employer, he is considered to be within the course of his employment as long as such actions were undertaken in good faith. It is immaterial whether the employee's own regular work assignments were furthered by his actions; it is merely whether the employer's interests were promoted. As a corollary to this rule, it is also the case that if an employee aids a co-worker with the co-worker's job duties, his good faith actions in doing so are also within the course of his employment. Compensation has even been awarded to an employee who was injured while helping a co-worker after the employee's regular workday had ended. The reasoning behind the allowance of compensation in instances such as this is that it is contrary to the employer's best interests to inhibit the helpful nature of employees. Thus, helping a fellow employee is advancing the employer's interests, albeit indirectly.More... |
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| Cessation of Social Security Disability Benefits Based on Lack of Disability |
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| Social security disability benefits are paid only so long as the individual remains disabled. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will cease paying benefits if the individual can engage in substantial gainful activity. The Social Security Disability Reform Act of 1984 established conditions for the cessation of disability benefits based on a lack of disability, which include:More... |
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| Knowledge of Injury Imputed to Employer |
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| When an employer has actual knowledge of an employee's injury and its possible connection to the employee's work, most courts will excuse the employee's failure to timely give notice of the injury. Sometimes, however, such knowledge will be imputed to the employer. If a person associated with the employer in a managerial or representative role received knowledge of the injury, that knowledge will be charged to the employer. For example, consider the supervisor who witnessed the accident that caused the employee's injury. The employer itself will then be deemed to be aware of the employee's injury.More... |
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| "Benefits" Under the Black Lung Benefits Act |
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| Once eligibility under the Black Lung Benefits Act has been established, a totally disabled miner will receive benefit payments equal to a portion of the monthly pay rate for federal employees. Should the miner succumb to the pneumoconiosis disease, his surviving widow will be entitled to the same monthly benefit payment. If the miner has no surviving widow, his single surviving child will also receive the same monthly benefit amount. The benefit amount increases incrementally with each subsequent surviving child. Finally, if there is no surviving widow and no surviving children, the miner's dependent parents or siblings will receive a monthly benefit amount at the children's rate. The receipt of payments pursuant to workers' compensation or unemployment insurance may reduce these beneficiary amounts.More... |
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| Employee Misconduct |
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| Generally, workers' compensation is a no-fault system that provides an employee with benefits for work-related injuries and illnesses without reference to an employee's negligent or wilful misconduct. This is not so, however, when such misconduct occurs outside the course of his employment. Additionally, various jurisdictions have outlined certain instances where an employee's misconduct constitutes a defense to the award of workers' compensation benefits.
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