What are Coming and Going Rules
A Florida court recently clarified the state's interpretation of coming and going rules via Hernandez v. KBF Renovations (DSK Group). Coming and going rules generally exempt injuries from qualifying for workers' compensation while commuting to and from work. Commutes to work and back home are often not eligible for workers' compensation as employees are not considered on the job or engaged in job-related duties. Exceptions can be made depending on each state's interpretation; however, they are rare.
Hernandez v. KBF Renovations
In this instance, the worker sustained injuries from a vehicle accident while en route to their worksite from home. The injured worker worked at multiple sites throughout the week and received a small stipend for travel from their employer. Due to working numerous job sites, it was thought that the travel employee exception would apply to the injured worker, allowing the claim to qualify for workers' compensation benefits.
Initially, the lower courts agreed with this conclusion, deeming the injured worker a field employee. While not a salaried employee, the court believed that the stipend covering the worker's commuting costs for transporting equipment from site to site in their vehicle to be considered a form of payment. Due to these circumstances, the lower court viewed the injury as in the course of employment, making the claim a compensable injury.
Ultimately the 1st district court disagreed with this initial finding deciding on appeal that employees traveling from home to a work site are generally not protected. Despite the payment for transport, the 1st district court did not consider the fuel allowance to include commuting to and from home. Justices established that work does not refer to a physical location but rather when the employee is "in a compensation status of some sort", meaning they must be engaging in paid work in real time. The employee does not clock in before driving to their worksite from home, only once they arrive at the site, therefore the court saw that driving to the worksite is out of the scope of coverage. The court said in this case that coverage begins only upon arrival at the worksite and ends when departing the worksite.
Florida's Analysis of Coming and Going Rules
The decision may narrow the state's analysis of coming and going rules that could impact future case law. Experts note that the case could have been upheld and deemed compensable if the worker was salaried, traveling between job sites, on a special errand for the employer, or carried extensive amounts of materials.
