If you accept a job in Pennsylvania, there are many things that you should expect from your employer. One of these things is the knowledge that you will be granted access to appropriate health care or other benefits if you are hurt while at work. These things are granted to you via laws in place that created the state’s workers’ compensation program.
As explained by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, a person may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits even if any accident was caused by their own negligence because the program is a no-fault system. Additionally, your ability to claim workers’ compensation begins the moment you start working for the company as there is no wait period for eligibility to begin. If you had a condition or injury before you started working for your employer and that condition or injury becomes worse due to the nature of your job, you may be able to receive workers’ compensation benefits for that.
Every employer in the state is mandated to be properly insured to meet workers’ compensation requirements. This may take the form of the company purchasing workers’ compensation insurance through a third party. A company does also have the right to apply for designation by the state as being self-insured. If a business fails to be properly insured, they may be subject to legal action.
This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to give people employed in Pennsylvania an overview of the state’s workers’ compensation program, the requirements it puts on employers and the benefits it offers to employees.
