Protect Yourself and Your Nanny or Household Employees
If you hire a nanny, household employee, or home healthcare employee to care for a family member or your children, you need to consider workers’ compensation insurance. As soon as you hire someone to work in your home, your home is a “workplace” and injuries that occur there are your responsibility. The safest way to protect yourself financially and legally is to get a workers’ compensation policy.
In California, the law requires that anyone who employs one or more full-time or part-time household employees must have workers’ compensation insurance. For this purpose, the worker must have worked 52 hours or more in the 90 days prior to an injury to receive benefits. (52 hours or more per quarter constitutes the need for coverage.) Many homeowner’s insurance policies can be amended to include workers’ compensation. If your current policy does not allow for adding workers’ comp, you can purchase the policy from a workers’ compensation insurance company. Be sure to comply with the legal requirements of minimum wage and tax withholdings if you are employing anyone full-time and insuring them in California.
Domestic Employees and Work Injuries
There are many instances where a workers’ compensation policy would cover an injury or illness that happens under your employment.
Examples of workers’ compensation covered injuries are:
- Your nanny is picking up your children from school and is in a car accident. Her medical care and any subsequent medical bills, physical therapy, or after care would be covered by workers’ compensation.
- Your mother-in-law lives with you and requires in-home care several days a week. Her caregiver catches your mother-in-law during a fall and subsequently sprains her wrist as she lands. Her exam and medical treatment are covered by workers’ compensation.
- Your full-time housekeeper is cleaning the floor and slips, hitting her head. You take her to the emergency room to make sure that she is okay. Workers’ compensation should cover the visit.
These examples are just a few ways that workers’ compensation insurance would protect you from potential financial expenses and protect your employee from paying out of pocket. Knowing that he or she is covered provides peace of mind for both homeowner and employee.
Need Legal Advice? Call 818-946-0608.
If you have questions about your workers’ compensation policy choices, or need help filing a claim, contact our team. Our workers’ compensation attorneys at Wax & Wax, A Law Corporation have the knowledge, experience and legal understanding to provide detailed advice for your workers’ comp questions.
Contact our workers’ comp lawyers today at 818-946-0608.
