Workers Compensation and COVID-19

Vaznaugh Weekly Weekly

Topic of the Week

How Interns Are Protected In the Workplace

Blog of the Week

Why It’s Important To Have an Employee-First Mindset with Business Decisions

Putting employees first in business decision-making is integral to the stability and longevity of a
company.

Thought for the Week

"If the intern performs work that benefits the employer and that would otherwise be performed by a regular employee, it is unlikely to be an internship. Interns are not a way to get free labor."

–Brandon Ruiz, Attorney

List of the Week

from Workplace Fairness

Did you know that:

1/3 of internships are unpaid
interns cannot legally perform the tasks of employees without compensation

Top Five News Headlines

The Law Office of Richard Vaznaugh

Experts in Workplace Rights for Bay Area Workers

505 Sansome Street, Suite 850
San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone: (415) 593-0076
Fax: (415) 653-8935

If you experience a work-related injury or occupational disease due to COVID-19, you may be eligible for workers compensation. Workers compensation alleviates the difficulty you experience a work-related injury or occupational disease due to COVID-19, you may be eligible for workers compensation. Workers compensation alleviates the difficulty and complexity of settling differences between employers and employees and provides assurance that the employee will once again be made whole again.

1. Are federal employees entitled to workers compensation if they contract COVID-19?

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 makes it easier for federal workers diagnosed with COVID-19 to establish coverage under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act. Section 4016 of the law provides that a federal employee who is diagnosed with COVID-19 and carried out duties that required contact with patients, members of the public, or co-workers, or included a risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus during a covered period of exposure prior to the diagnosis, is deemed to have an injury that is proximately caused by employment. See the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Workers Compensation webpage for more information.

2. Do state workers compensation laws cover COVID-19?

Workers compensation laws and COVID-19 vary by state. Generally, they do not cover routine community-spread illnesses like a cold or the flu because they usually cannot be directly tied to the workplace; however, COVID-19 is a unique illness where jobs that weren’t previously considered hazardous have become dangerous for workers. See the National Conference of State Legislators for information on state actions related to workers compensation and COVID-19.

Practice Areas

The Law Office of Richard Vaznaugh assists plaintiffs in the following areas of employment law: Stock Option Disputes, Age Discrimination, Pensions and Benefits, Trade Secrets, Severance Packages, Physical and Drug Tests, Gender and Sex Discrimination, Libel and Slander, Defamation, Employment Contracts, Employment Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Family and Medical Leave, Race or Nationality Discrimination, Covenants Not to Compete, Wrongful Termination, Workplace Disputes, Disability Discrimination, Reasonable Accommodation, Pregnancy Discrimination, Pregnancy Leave, Sick Leave, Gay and Lesbian Rights, Wages and Overtime Pay.