Can Part-Time Employees Collect Workers’ Compensation in Minnesota?

Workers’ compensation is designed to protect employees if they suffer an injury and are unable to work and collect a normal paycheck. It’s a system that protects full-time employees, but what about those who work in a part-time or seasonal capacity? In today’s blog, we explain if part-time employees are covered by workers’ compensation insurance, and how you can go about collecting compensation if you are hurt at your part-time job.

Work Comp For Part-Time Employees

We’ll cut right to the chase. In the vast majority of cases, part-time employees are entitled to receive compensation for their injuries. As long as the injury occurred on the clock or while the employee was performing their work duties, it’s doesn’t matter if they work 10 hours a week or 35 hours a week, if they are employed as a part-time employee and have taxes withheld from their paycheck, they can almost always collect workers’ compensation for on-the-job injuries.

As you might imagine, there are some exceptions. One such exception is if the employee is actually classified as an independent contractor. We’ll talk more about that in-depth below, but other employees who may not be eligible for workers’ compensation, even if they work in a part-time capacity, include:

Self-employed proprietors with no employees
Spouses, parents or children of the employer (situationally dependent)
Volunteers

If you meet any of those criteria, you may not be eligible for workers’ compensation, but it never hurts to speak with a workers’ compensation lawyer to see if you have a case.

Independent Contractors And Workers’ Compensation

If you are actually classified as an independent contractor, you may not be eligible for workers’ compensation if you are injured during the commission of your work duties. We talk a little more in-depth about independent contractor classification on this blog, but there are a few simple tests that you can apply to your situation to help determine if you are an employee or an independent contractor. For example, if you can say yes to any of the following conditions, you may in fact be an independent contractor:

You may make a profit or take a loss based on the contract and services you perform.
You bring their own equipment to the job site.
The success or failure of their business depends on your receipts compared to your expenditures.
You are responsible for the satisfactory completion of services based on the contract.
You hold or have applied for a federal employer identification number.
You are incurring the main expenses for the services you perform.

These are just a few of the factors that help to establish whether or not you’re an employee or an independent contractor, but again, it’s in your best interest to speak with a workers’ compensation attorney to confirm that you have a valid case.

Don’t let your boss or management tell you that you are ineligible to file for workers’ compensation because you are a part-time employee or you’re mistakenly classified as an independent contractor or volunteer. If you are injured during work for which you are being compensated, there’s a good chance that you’re in fact eligible for workers’ compensation. Don’t let your employer tell you differently without first connecting with an injury lawyer.

For more information, or to talk to a lawyer to see if you may have a case, reach out to Dean and the team at Margolis Law Firm today.