How is work-relatedness determined for an employee who is working from home?

• Injury and illness that occur while an employee is working from home are considered work related if they are directly related to the performance of work and not the general home environment.

Injuries and illnesses that occur while an employee is working at home, including work in a home office, will be considered work related if the injury or illness occurs while the employee is performing work for pay or compensation in the home, and the injury or illness is directly related to the performance of work rather than to the general home environment or setting.

For example, if an employee drops a box of work documents and suffers a foot injury, the case is considered work related. If an employee’s fingernail is punctured by a needle from a sewing machine used to perform garment work at home, becomes infected and requires medical treatment, the injury is considered work related. If an employee is injured by tripping on the family dog while rushing to answer a work phone call, the case is not considered work related. If an employee working at home is electrocuted because of faulty home wiring, the injury is not considered work related.