Holiday party season is upon us! Work holiday parties, often outside of the office and outside of normal business hours, bring the joy of celebrating the holidays with co-workers and employees, but also bring risk – risk of injuries to employees. When those parties are considered an extension of the workplace for the purposes of Pennsylvania workers’ compensation law, injured employees may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.
In Pennsylvania, an employee is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits when the injury in question occurs in the course and scope of employment. An injury may be deemed in the course and scope of employment, whether on or off the employer’s premises, when the injured employee is actually engaged in the furtherance of the employer’s business or affairs. An injury may also be deemed to be in the course and scope of employment when an employee is not actually engaged in the furtherance of the employer’s business but, (1) is on the premises occupied or under the control of the employer, or upon which the employer’s business or affairs are being carried on; (2) is required by the nature of his or her employment to be present at said location; (3) and the injury is caused by the condition of the premises or by operation of the employer’s business or affairs thereon.[1]
Injuries that take place outside of an employer’s premises, like many holiday parties, can be deemed to be in the course of employment when an employee “is injured while...
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