Given its name, you may think that workers’ compensation covers anyone who is employed. Unfortunately, this misconception could leave you very disappointed if you ever get injured on the job. The truth is that not everyone who is a worker gets workers’ compensation. You may have heard that contractors are excluded, for one. However, what you call somebody is not the definitive measure of whether or not workers’ compensation insurance covers them. Instead, the following elements need to characterize the employee.

Acting Independently

Independent contractors act on their own, obviously. This is one reason they’re not considered employees. They aren’t given direction and they control how a job is done and even who does it, for the most part. Their relationship to their client is much different than the one an employee has with their employer.

Hiring and Pay

Despite popular belief, an individual doesn’t need to be interviewed to count as an employee and qualify for workers’ compensation. However, they receive payment either on an hourly basis or through a salaried agreement. On the other hand, a contractor gets paid per the job they do or service they provide. While they may work for a client several times throughout the year, the relationship is clearly quite different here too.

Equipment Provided

Both contractors and employees may use equipment to do their job. However, more often than not, a contractor brings their own to the jobsite. An employee is usually provided their equipment from the company they work for. That being said, contractors working in an office environment often use the desk, chair and computer provided to them by their client.

Type of Work

Another defining characteristic of a contractor is the type and nature of the work they are doing. Contractors usually provide highly-skilled services. This makes sense, when you think about it, because if they didn’t have an in-demand skill, most companies would just hire someone and train them.

Contractors usually provide these skills to more than one company at the same time as well. They can even provide the exact same service to different companies simultaneously too.

An actual employee is usually trained by the company that hires them and receives regular work from just that one employer. While many people may get hired for their advanced skills and/or degrees, an employee would rarely use them with more than one company at the same time.

Agreements in Writing

Though it might seem odd, written agreements that label someone an “independent contractor” are actually not enough to qualify a person as much.

Having Your Workers’ Compensation Denied

The point of all of the above is that some employees have found themselves denied their workers’ compensation because their employer claims they were actually an independent contractor. This is why it’s important to take the above into consideration now and become certain about your status.

Should you already find yourself in a situation where your workers’ compensation is being denied, you need to call Ingerman and Horwitz at 1-800-776-4529. Our law firm has 25 years of experience and knows how to get you the workers’ compensation you’re owed. Contact us today.