WC Benefits Available For Workers Handling Tainted Mail

WC Benefits Available For Workers Handling Tainted Mail

Employees who opened anthrax-tainted envelopesand had to be treated for their exposurewould be covered under their employers workers compensation policies, since part of their work-related duties involves opening mail, said Loretta Worters, vice president of communications for the Insurance Information Institute in New York.

Workers comp, which varies from state to state, provides for the cost of medical care and rehabilitation for injured employees. It also provides for lost wages and death benefits for the dependents of persons killed in work-related accidents.

Federal employees are covered by the Federal Employees Compensation Act. Employees of the District of Columbia are covered by the District of Columbia Workers Compensation Act.

An employee contracting anthrax would be covered under workers comp, though “there still is a question as to whether their health insurance would kick in,” Ms. Worters said.

There will be many insurance issues related to anthrax, she said. Business interruption is a factor because some organizations are being forced to shut down. There also will be liability issues, particularly with post office workers, Ms. Worters added.

“Theyre saying they should have let them know and safeguarded them in some way,” she said. “So you may see that type of negligence commentary.”

Whether post office employees can sue remains to be seen, but employees in the private sector “will be saying the same things,” she said.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, November 5, 2001. Copyright 2001 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.

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