Workers Comp Covers Injury Telecommuter Suffers at Home

Is a telecommuter that gets injured while working from home entitled to workers comp benefits? A Québec labour tribunal answered yes to this crucial question. The claim was made by an Air Canada customer agent who fell down the stairs while beginning her lunch break. Air Canada claimed the injury wasn’t work-related because it occurred in the agent’s home beyond the company’s control. But the tribunal disagreed. Workers comp should protect remote workers to the extent they suffer injuries while carrying out job functions. The key factor, in other words, isn’t where the injury occurs but whether the activity that led to it was done for personal or work purposes. The injury in this case was work-related because it occurred moments after the agent concluded a business meeting [Air Canada and Gentile-Patti, 2021 QCTAT 5829 (CanLII), December 3, 2021].