Tom McCutcheon – Attorney at Law
Q: I work at a small hotel and there are about seven people who work there including my sister and my aunt. This includes the owner and his wife and does not include the people who cut the grass. I was cleaning a room and fell in the bathtub and broke my arm. The owner says he doesn’t have workers’ compensation and doesn’t have to have workers’ compensation because he doesn’t employ enough people. Is he correct?
Peggy
Athens, AL
A: Alabama law requires all employers who regularly employ five or more employees to carry workers’ compensation insurance.
When you read the cases and study the law in this area, what you find is that it is the regular employment of five or more that determines whether workers’ compensation law applies. There is a case where a restaurant had five or more employees every weekend but during the week never had more than two employees and was not subject to the Act. That particular case is probably the most generous case for not requiring workers’ compensation.
My analysis of your case would be to look at the payroll records of your employer. If every week they wrote five checks to five different people, I think you could legitimately make the case that you are covered by the law of workers compensation. If you are supposed to be covered by workers compensation and your employer doesn’t have coverage, additional penalties apply to the employer. Whether they have insurance or not if they meet the definition of an employer that is required to have coverage, then you are entitled to the benefits of the Act.
Certain employees such as farm laborers and domestic employees are not covered by the workers’ compensation act. We often see where professional drivers will agree that they are “independent contractors” and purchase an occupational accident and hazard policy which is similar to what workers’ compensation would provide.
Workers compensation is both good and bad. The good part of workers compensation is that it takes away issues of fault and provides for the mandatory payment of medical bills and disability pay for the period of time the worker cannot work. The disappointing part of workers compensation is that injuries are capped by a schedule so that very little money is paid for certain permanent injuries. By way of example, the complete amputation of the little finger pays two-thirds of the average wage for 16 weeks. So let’s say you make $350.00 per week and your little finger is amputated at work, you now live the rest of your life with nine fingers and $3,733.00 for your trouble. However, we can and do get really good recoveries for shoulders, hips, back and neck injuries.
Buckle up and drive safely.
256-764-0112
