Excerpts
from Church Treasurer Alert
September 2002
“Workers'
compensation laws have been enacted in all fifty states.
These laws provide compensation to employees as a result of
job-related injuries and illnesses.
The amount of compensation is determined by law and generally is
based on the nature and extent of the employee’s disability.
In exchange for such benefits, employees give up the right to sue
an employer directly. Fault
is irrelevant under workers compensation laws.”
Church
employees are covered by workers' compensation laws in all states in the
Diocese of the West.
"In
a compulsory state, an employer that fails to obtain workers'
compensation insurance will ordinarily be subject to a lawsuit by an
injured employee, or may be treated as a “self-insurer” and be
liable for the damages specified by the workers compensation law."
Key Point:
"Failure to
purchase workers' compensation insurance can result in a significant
uninsured risk....In the case of a fatality, the damages can be in the
hundreds of thousands of dollars."
“An
injured employee may be able to sue the church for damages in a civil
lawsuit. Unlike workers'
compensation benefits, there is no limit on the amount a court can award
in a civil lawsuit. The
damages a court awards in a civil lawsuit will not be covered under most
church insurance policies. Often,
general liability policies exclude employee injuries on the assumption
that they are covered in a workers compensation policy."
