Working in food service can be extremely rewarding and offers a wide range of opportunities. From fast food spots to four-star restaurants and from serving or busing tables to working behind the line as a sous chef or head chef, you can earn a fair income, learn a lot, and spend time with interesting people. Unfortunately, these jobs come with risks and food service injuries are common.
Those who work in customer-facing roles can hurt themselves reaching across tables to serve or clear. They can trip on a slippery fall, or even find themselves face-to-face with robbers. Those who work in the kitchen are subject to the risk of burns and other injuries from stoves and ovens, knives, and electrical appliances, as well as exposure to hazardous chemicals. Even the employees that work at drive-thru windows or who deliver food can end up injured on the job.
No matter what your position or how you were hurt, if you were injured while working in a food service establishment you may be entitled to workers’ compensation.
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault insurance policy that covers nearly every worker in America. It represents an agreement between employer and employee that means that injured workers will not need to file a personal injury lawsuit against their employer, and in exchange, their employer will insure them and provide compensation for medical expenses, as well as for any time needed away from work to recuperate and recover.
For those who work in foodservice, some injuries are more common than others. According to Cintas Corporation, one in every 20 on-the-job injuries occur at eating and drinking establishments, and the top four restaurant injuries are:
When you’ve been hurt on the job, you need to know your workers’ compensation rights to make sure that you receive the benefits to which you are entitled. Contact our office today to learn more.
Summer is on the horizon, and that means that students and teachers are going to be searching for employment. Whether you’re enmeshed in the 9-months-per year world of education or seek temporary or seasonal work for any other reason or at any other time of year, temporary workers are an important part of the workforce. Where full time and part-time employees are entitled to workers’ compensation insurance in case they get hurt on the job, many seasonal workers wonder whether temporary workers also have access to these important protections.
Workers’ compensation insurance exists to provide medical expenses and wage replacement for injuries or illnesses that occur on the job or as a result of the job. Injured workers can file claims to have their medical expenses fully compensated, while wages are reimbursed at a specified rate and percentage based on established schedules. In the state of Pennsylvania, this coverage is extended to temporary and seasonal workers, though there can sometimes be questions as to who is responsible for providing them with coverage.
The reason for this confusion revolves around who has actually hired the employee. If a temporary worker has applied directly to a company for a job and that company has employed them, then that company is responsible for providing their workers’ compensation coverage: the injured employee would report their injury directly to them and they would be listed as their employer on their workers’ compensation claim. But many temporary workers are placed in jobs through staffing or placement agencies that they list themselves with, and that means that the agency is their employer. Their workers’ compensation insurance is provided by the staffing agency unless their contract with the employee or the contracting client specifically states otherwise.
To apply for workers’ compensation, a temporary worker needs to report their injury to the company that has hired them. The notification should include details such as when and where the injury took place and how the injury occurred. Workers’ compensation is a no-fault type of insurance, so workers do not need to worry about attributing blame or having made a mistake before their injury. If you are a temporary or seasonal worker who has suffered an injury and you need more information on your rights, contact us today to set up a convenient time to meet and discuss your case.
30 East Roseville Road, Suite C
Lancaster, PA 17601
Phone: 717-397-1010
Office Hours:
After Hours: 717-471-2168
Fax: 717-397-2644
Vanasse Law LLC is conveniently located just north of center city Lancaster just off Route 30. We are in Sterling Center just off Lititz Pike/Route 501. Our office has plenty of free parking and is handicapped accessible.
Located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Vanasse Law LLC serves injured workers throughout Lancaster County and surrounding communities.
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