The holiday season is approaching, and retail stores, warehouses and factories are all hiring seasonal workers as quickly as they can.
Are seasonal employees given the same protections as regular workers? In most situations, yes. The vast majority of employers in this state are required to carry workers’ compensation for their employees — and that includes season workers.
When might you not be covered under an employer’s workers’ compensation plan?
There may be some exceptions, however, that may apply to your situation. Consider these:
- You are working as an independent contractor: Typically, independent contractors are hired for specific tasks, frequently short-term. If you’re an independent contractor and not an employee, you won’t qualify for workers’ comp if you suffer a workplace injury.. You probably know if you’re a contractor or not. However, unscrupulous employers will sometimes misclassify short-term workers on purpose to avoid the extra expense associated with workers’ comp coverage. That can leave an injured worker in the lurch.
- You were hired through a temporary agency: Generally speaking, when you work through a “temp” staffing agency, the staffing agency is your employer — not the place you end up working. You may, in essence, be subcontracted out. Should you end up injured at work, you could find yourself caught in the middle between your on-site employer and the staffing company, with each party trying to push liability for your workers’ comp claim off on the other.
Workers’ compensation claims are supposed to be easy — but they’re often not. If you’re a temp worker who was injured on the job, find out more about what it takes to enforce your legal right to benefits.
