How Employee Misclassification Could Affect Your Rights to Workers’ Compensation in Indiana

In the state of Indiana, most employers are required to carry an insurance policy that will cover the expenses related to a worker being injured in an accident; however, many companies are keeping injured workers from receiving the benefits they deserve through a process known as worker misclassification.

Our Terre Haute workers’ compensation lawyers at Fleschner, Stark, Tanoos & Newlin explain that only workers who are hired as employees of a company are covered under workers’ compensation policies. So, if a company hires an independent contractor and that individual is injured on the job, the company isn’t responsible for covering their costs, such as lost wages or medical expenses. This has led to some companies listing employees as independent contractors in order to avoid liability in the event of an accident.

According to an article from NPR News, this is a practice the U.S. Department of Labor is currently working to end. The agency has issued a set of guidelines that outline the process a company must use in order to determine if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The guidelines are based on court decisions that offered guidance as to appropriate contract lengths, control of schedule, and payment structures.

We believe in protecting the rights of injured workers and our Terre Haute personal injury lawyers at Fleschner, Stark, Tanoos & Newlin are hopeful these new guidelines can benefit workers who may be incorrectly titled as classified as independent contractors.