John worked for the Ace Construction Company as a carpenter. John would travel up and down the east coast for Ace, managing various projects at shopping malls. John was provided with a company vehicle, a stipend for his food, and full reimbursement for all of his hotel charges. Many times John would be away for two weeks at a time from his home base and really spent almost 90% of his time traveling.

John was in central Florida on a job for several weeks. While staying at a hotel over the weekend, John slipped in the shower, breaking his right arm. While John did not work normally on weekends, he would stay over at his job site since it was more economically feasible to do so than to return back to Pennsylvania just for a few days.

Issue: Is John covered by Workers’ Compensation?

Answer: Yes. John, in his capacity as a traveling employee, would be covered pretty much from the time he left Pennsylvania until the time he returned. This is because John did not work in any one particular work site, but also because his employer provided him with both room and board reimbursement. Normally, an individual would not be covered by Workers’ Compensation for their commute to and from work.

Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive. Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column.