WC Liability on paid breaks?

HRisMyLife

Hello,

My question for today is: If we pay ees for lunch breaks, and they are away from our premesis, are we liable (under WC) if they sustain an injury?

I'm concerned that since we are paying for their time, we are.

I'm in PA.

Thanks in advance for anyone's help.

Paul in Cannon Beach

Interesting question. I called our WC rep and she says yes if you pay for the lunch break regardless if its off premises and no if its unpaid.

Also, she mentioned that its helpful if there is a set lunch break rather than having employees just take off whenever they want.

Perhaps you might want to reconsider the paid lunch break policy.

Again, this is Oregon and we do things our own special way here.

Paul

System

Every state has its own way of defining what's work-related, so you'd need to ask your WC carrier, state agency, or a PA lawyer.

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James Sokolowski
Senior Editor
M. Lee Smith Publishers