While this may seem like an easy question, the answer is not straightforward. Here, I will break down the the laws surrounding workers’ compensation and commuting for work.
The Going and Coming Rule
In general, an employee injured while going to or coming from work has not suffered an injury in the course of his or her employment. This is generally known as the “Going and Coming Rule.” An injury that does not occur in the “course of the employment” is not covered by the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act.
With any general rule there are, of course, exceptions. There are essentially four exceptions to the Going and Coming Rule:
- When the means of transportation in going to and coming from work is provided by the employer or the employer pays the travel time
- When the employee is injured in an area that is the sole means of ingress or egress (entrance or exit on the company property) or was constructed by the employer
- The employee is charged with some duty or task by the employer while on the way to or from work
- The accident occurs in a parking lot or walkway on the employer’s business, or one in such close proximity, that it is found to be an “extension of the employer’s premises”
Let’s look at each of these exceptions one at a time:
If you are injured in an accident while driving a company truck to and from your workplace, you are most likely covered by the Act. The same is true if your employer reimburses you for your mileage while driving to and from your place of work. However, just like there are exceptions to the Going and Coming Rule, there are exceptions to the exceptions! For example, if you are driving a company car to work but deviate to pick up your dry cleaning, you may not be covered by workers’ compensation if you are hurt.
If you are injured while traveling on a roadway that is the sole means of getting to or from the employer’s place of business, you are most likely covered by the Act. To fall within this exception, the evidence needs to show that there was no other way to get to the employer’s place of business. This exception is rarely applied but should not be overlooked.
If your employer assigns you a task to perform while traveling to or from work, you should be covered by the Act if you are injured while performing that task. For example, if your employer asks you to stop at a lumber company to pick up timber for your job, you are probably covered by the Act due to an exception. Any injury sustained while traveling to or from picking up that timber should be covered by the Act.
An employee who sustains an injury while passing to or from his or her work over the employer’s premises is covered by the Act. This is also true if the employee is injured while traversing over the property of another that is in such close proximity as to be, in all practical effect, a part of the employer’s premises. This is considered an “extension of the employer’s premises.”
How do we identify the “extension of an employer’s premises”?
This begs the question: What does the “extension of the employer’s premises” mean? Unfortunately, there is no set answer.
Each fact pattern must be examined on a case-by-case basis. For example, in the case of Prince v. Pan American Airways, an employee sustained an injury while returning from her lunch break. She slipped on an icy sidewalk approximately five feet from the entrance to the office building leased by her employer. In awarding the case, the Court of Appeals found the walkway to be in such close proximity to the employer’s place of business, that it was in practical effect a part of the employer’s premises.
In contrast, in Washington v. Honeywell, the employee left the employer’s building after work and was struck by a car while crossing a two-lane public road. The employee was attempting to reach a parking lot owned and maintained by the employer. In denying the case, the Court of Appeals relied on the fact that the employer did not own, maintain, or control the public road where the employee was struck.
The “extension of the premises” doctrine also applies to parking lot cases. If you are injured while walking to or from work through a parking lot that is owned or maintained by your employer, you should be covered by the Act. You may also be covered if you sustain an injury in a parking lot that is not owned or maintained by your employer if you are required to park in that lot by your employer or if your employer reimburses your parking expenses.
Even if you clock out of work for the day and are injured while on the employer’s premises, you may still be covered by the Act. For example, in Briley v Farm Fresh, Inc. an employee slipped and fell on her employer’s premises. The employee had clocked out of work for the day, removed her unform shirt, and was doing some personal grocery shopping inside the store that was her place of employment at the time of the fall. In finding that the Act covered the employee’s accident, the Court pointed out there is no instantaneous exit from the place of employment, and that an employee has a reasonable period after concluding work to leave the employer’s premises.
Also, in Jones v. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Court held that an injury occurred in the course of the employment, even though the employee had not yet clocked in and was disposing of her personal trash on the employer’s premises.
Determining whether an injury sustained while traveling to or from work is covered by the Act is not always easy. If you are involved in such an accident, it is critical that you contact an experienced workers’ compensation attorney to help you navigate the issues. Please reach out to us for a free case evaluation, at 866-388-1307.
