Though injured workers are entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits if they have become injured in a workplace accident, it is important to know that the rates of pay an injured worker receives depends on the classification assigned to the business one is working in. Employers who are assigned the same classification must pay the same rate in the same state. Workers’ compensation therefore, is an equitable system not an equal one.
Massachusetts’ residents may not realize it, but the workers’ compensation system is intended to distribute insurance costs equitably. As such, employers in industries with high risks of injuries will have to pay more to an injured worker than an employer who is employees are at lower risks of getting injured. If this were not the case, then all employers would pay the same, and this could end up as a disadvantage for those employees who are working high-risk jobs.
The classification system is intended for businesses, not the employees working there. The idea is that workers in similar types of businesses would be exposed to the same types of risks. For example, workers who install roofs are prone to the same type of injuries wherever it is that their business is located in the state of Massachusetts, but these type of injuries are different from those experienced by office workers.
Even though workers in the same business are assigned the basic classification of the business, there are some exceptions to this, especially of the employee is performing a task common to other businesses, such as clerical work. When it comes to understanding what one is owed in workers’ compensation benefits if one has become injured on the job, it is important to know what classification the business the are working in has and where the injured worker falls in that system. While this may seem complicated to many, experienced lawyers are familiar with the system and can help injured workers get the compensation they need.
