Workers' Comp Basics
Start here: who workers’ comp covers and who it leaves out, the no-fault bargain that pays you without proving your employer did anything wrong — and the exclusive-remedy rule you trade away for it, what happens when an employer carries no insurance, whether you are really an independent contractor, and the separate federal systems for federal, maritime, and railroad workers.
All Workers' Comp Basics guides
- What If Your Employer Has No Workers' Comp Insurance?
Hurt on the job and your employer has no workers' comp insurance? How uninsured-employer funds, direct lawsuits, and state deadlines generally work — and why you must check your own state.
- Federal Workers' Comp: FECA, Longshore, FELA, and the Jones Act
Federal civilian, maritime, railroad, coal, and nuclear-weapons workers aren't in state workers' comp. Here's which federal system covers you and why it matters.
- Workers' Comp vs. Disability Benefits (SSDI and Short-Term)
Workers' comp only covers job injuries; SSDI and short-term disability cover any cause. Here's how they differ and what happens if benefits overlap.
- Injured as a Gig Worker or Independent Contractor
Hurt while driving, delivering, or freelancing? Most gig workers have no workers' comp - here's what options you actually have.
- Does Workers' Comp Cover You If the Injury Was Your Fault?
Being careless or making a mistake usually doesn't disqualify you from workers' comp. Learn the narrow fault-based exceptions and why they vary by state.
- Personal Injury vs. Workers' Compensation: What's the Difference?
Workers' comp is no-fault but caps benefits; personal injury is fault-based with pain-and-suffering damages. When both can apply, and what to do.
- Workers' Comp for Temp, Staffing-Agency, and Seasonal Workers
Hurt at a job you got through a staffing agency? Here's who's responsible, who to file with, and how to protect your claim.
- Employee or Independent Contractor? Why It Decides Your Comp Claim
Being paid on a 1099 doesn't decide workers' comp coverage - your state's legal test does. Here's how that test works and what to do after a work injury.
- The Exclusive Remedy Rule (and Its Exceptions)
Workers' comp pays without proving fault, but you usually can't sue your employer. Here's the trade-off, and the narrow exceptions that can let you sue anyway.
- Workers' Compensation Basics: How It Works
Workers' comp explained: a no-fault system that pays medical bills and partial wages after a job injury, but not pain and suffering.
- Can You Sue Your Employer for a Work Injury?
Workers' comp usually bars suing your employer for a work injury — here are the narrow exceptions and what to do next.
- Who Is Covered by Workers' Comp?
Most employees are covered from their first day on the job, but workers' comp is state law and the carve-outs vary. Here's the general framework and how to check your own coverage.