Are domestic workers eligible for workmanship compensation?

Workers Compensation For Domestic Workers

If you're employed in someone's house, you may think you're not eligible for workers ' compensation benefits. Your employer doesn't run a business after all. He or she just hired you to clean their house, to look after their lawn, or to look after their children. But under California law, if you are injured while at work, you may actually be entitled to workers ' compensation benefits.

Can you want to know a better solution then you can go to the workers compensation audit?

It is not unusual in states like California to hire a domestic worker, such as a babysitter, nanny, gardener, or housekeeper. Both the employer and the worker will benefit from these partnerships. The employer knows the worker is going to do a great job, and the employee often has a more flexible work schedule than traditional work. If that employee is hurt at work, however, the question may arise as to who is responsible for the accident.

Consider a situation in which a housekeeper, breaking her arm, falls down the stairs at the home of her employer. If that happened at the place of business of any other employer, it would automatically be covered by workers ' compensation, as workers ' compensation is a no-fault insurance system that provides benefits to injured workers irrespective of how they were hurt (with a few exceptions, such as if the employee committed a crime at work). But since the housekeeper works in a private home, the employer may be reluctant to pay for her injuries. He should argue that he was at fault with the housekeeper and that he should not be required to pay for her abuse. In this case, what can be done?

It should be noted as an initial matter that occasional employees (such as a once-weekly cleaning service) should be covered automatically under the insurance policy of a homeowner. But if an employee is considered by the insurance company or by state law to be a full-time employee, then the employer must provide compensation for workers.

Under California law, the following is defined as a full-time domestic or residential employee:

• To workers inside, such as housekeepers or nannies, full-time jobs start when they work 20 hours a week or more.
• For employees outside, such as gardeners, full-time work begins when they work 10 hours a week or more.

If you were injured as a domestic employee while working in California, you may be entitled to compensation benefits for workers if you worked at least 52 hours in the 90 days prior to the accident and earned at least $100 in wages. An attorney for compensation for skilled workers can help you determine whether you meet these criteria and are potentially eligible for compensation for workers.