Australian employee files workers' comp claim after being injured while having sex on business trip
By Jeffrey R. Smith
People can get hurt in many ways, particularly at work. A look at countless types of workers’ compensation claims demonstrates this. While the severity and type of injury can affect whether a claim is successful, a workers’ compensation board also has to decide whether an injury happened in the course of employment in order to award benefits — sometimes, this can be tricky.
What qualifies as “in the course of employment?” When an employee is at work, performing her job duties, it’s pretty obvious. But what about while commuting to work? Or on an employer-scheduled lunch break outside of the workplace?
There was a case a couple of years ago where an employee at a store in a mall won a workers’ compensation claim after she was injured slipping on ice in parking lot. Though the employer didn’t own the parking lot, the adjudicator found walking to her workplace across the lot qualified as being in the course of employment. The interesting thing about it was the adjudicator approved the claim because the employee had been walking from a specific section of the parking lot where the employer had told its employees to park. It hinted that if the employer had not done that, and the employee had just parked anywhere, the claim might not have been successful.
An unusual case that’s making headlines now is that of an Australian woman who was injured while having sex in a motel room on a business trip. Because she was there on business, and the employer provided the motel room, she claimed the injury happened in the course of employment. The claim was initially rejected by Australia’s worker’s compensation organization, but her appeal is being heard by a federal judge.
Having sex was not part of the employee’s duties on the business trip. But her job was the reason she was there and her employer was the reason she was in that particular room — the injury was caused by a faulty light fixture over the bed that fell on her head. Could that be considered in the course of employment? While having sex can, probably, be dismissed as not work-related, what about other employees who are outside the office on business but mix in some personal activities at the same time? At what point is it not in the course of employment if the employment is the reason for the worker being in that particular location in the first place?
Workplace injuries requiring compensation benefits are sometimes easy to define — but in some circumstances, the line between what is and isn’t in the course of employment might be a little blurry and you might be surprised at what does, and doesn’t, warrant benefits.
Jeffrey R. Smith is the editor of Canadian Employment Law Today, a publication that looks at workplace law from a business perspective. He can be reached at [email protected]. For more information, visit www.employmentlawtoday.com.
