People get injured in workplace accidents every day; it doesn’t matter if they work for a private employer, a non-profit organization, a local, state or federal government. But when it comes to workers’ compensation coverage, the nature of their employment dictates whether they are covered by workers’ compensation insurance or not.
In New York, virtually all employees are covered by workers’ compensation, but there are exceptions. For example, the following individuals are NOT covered by workers’ compensation under New York law (this is not a complete list):
- Individuals who volunteer for nonprofit organizations.
- Licensed ministers, priests and rabbis, as well as other religious workers.
- The minor children of farmers who are not under a contract.
- The spouse of farmers who are not under a contract.
- New York firefighters.
- New York police officers.
- New York sanitation workers.
- Real estate agents.
- Casual employees, such as those who do babysitting or yard work.
- Federal employees.
While there are a number of occupations that are not covered by workers’ compensation, for the purpose of this post we want to focus specifically on federal employees.While they are not entitled to workers’ compensation in the traditional sense, they are entitled to compensation under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act.
Related: State vs. Federal Workers’ Compensation Laws
“The Federal Employees’ Compensation Act provides workers’ compensation to three million Federal and Postal workers around the world for employment-related injuries and occupational diseases,” according to the United States Department of Labor.
Note: If an individual was injured on the job while working for a private company, or a local or state government, they will not be covered by the Act. Instead, they will be covered under New York State’s workers’ compensation laws.
Do you have questions regarding the state or federal laws and how they apply to you? Contact our firm to meet with a Long Island workers’ compensation attorney for free.
