At this time of year, many hard-working employees in Hollywood and across Florida are looking for seasonal jobs, temp work, and side gigs to earn extra money for the holiday season. If that’s you, you should know that seasonal jobs come with their unique hazards, and you may qualify for workers’ compensation if you sustain a workplace injury.
It’s not always clear whether you qualify for workers’ compensation benefits, which is why the father-son attorney team at Flaxman Law Group invite you to contact our law offices for a free accident consultation. It’s your chance to get answers, with no cost and no obligation, if you’ve been injured.
What Are the Risks of Seasonal Jobs?
Whether you work in a holiday pop-up store, are hired for the holiday rush, or take additional temporary work, there are risks to seasonal jobs:
- Many companies invest less in safety training for short-term employees
- This time of year is busier, which can lead to more injuries
- You may not be as familiar with a workplace or work tasks if you’re new to a job, which can put you at risk
Do Florida Seasonal Workers Get Workers’ Compensation?
Whether you qualify for workers’ compensation at your Hollywood job depends on how you’re classified and what you do. If you’re a full-time or part-time worker in most companies, you should be covered and your coverage begins the day you’re hired, too. You should be covered for any work-related injury that occurs during job duties, including any workplace exposure and repetitive strain injuries as well as any workplace accidents. You should be covered for:
- Head injuries caused by slip and fall incidents or falling objects
- Back injuries and strains caused by lifting heavy objects
- Injuries resulting from violence from customers and colleagues
- Car and truck accident injuries, if you’re a seasonal driver or delivery person
- Broken bones caused by workplace falls and other on-the-job accidents
- Any other type of injury or illness caused by your work duties
The situation is more complex if you’re listed as a subcontractor, freelancer, or independent contractor. These individuals are not usually covered by workers’ compensation. However, if you’re held to the same standards as an employee and treated as one, you may have been misclassified. It’s possible you should be covered. You may also be able to pay for your own workers’ compensation coverage, even if your employer does not have to cover you.
As you can see, the laws around workers’ compensation and seasonal workers can get complex. How can you know whether you’re misclassified? What if an employer doesn’t carry insurance for you, even if they’re required to by law? What if you’re covered but your benefits are denied or aren’t enough to cover your loss of income?
Dealing with a workers’ compensation claim in Hollywood is more complicated for all these reasons and because your work injury can affect your ability to go to your regular job. For all these reasons, we recommend you contact the Hollywood offices of Flaxman Law Group if you’re injured at work. Our family-based law firm is passionate about helping hard-working employees like you. We’ve already recovered over $100 million for injured individuals and we’re happy to offer a free, no obligation consultation so you can speak with a Hollywood workers’ comp claims attorney with no risk and in absolute confidence.