With the holiday season here, retail and shipping companies are hiring seasonal employees to help with the increased demand. UPS and Target announced they were adding additional non-permanent positions to their distribution and fulfillment centers, including in-store workers focused on fulfilling e-commerce orders.
If you are looking to take advantage of increased employment opportunities this holiday season, there are some things you need to know to protect yourself.
The number of workplace accidents increases around the holidays. With businesses staying open longer, traffic increases, stress levels rise, and more people have a higher risk of getting injured at work.
Seasonal employees are protected by your company’s workers’ compensation insurance. New Hampshire law requires that workers’ compensation covers all employees, including part-time, temporary, and immigrant workers. It does not matter whose fault the injury was. In most cases, all seasonal employees are treated equally and can get workers’ comp benefits.
Seasonal or temporary workers can receive compensation for the following:
All reasonable and necessary medical bills caused by your work injury.
Lost Wages such as temporary total disability (TTD) benefits (after you miss more than three days of work) if you are unable to work at all.
Temporary partial (TP) benefits if you are unable to earn the same amount of pay you were making before your disability.
Permanent impairment award if the injury affected your earning ability for the rest of your life.
There are additional benefits that an injured worker may be entitled under workers’ compensation.
Report Your Injury
If you are hurt while performing your “seasonal” or temporary” job duties, you must report it to your employer as soon as possible. Please note that you only have up to two years to report workplace injuries, so it’s a good idea to report any injury right away. You should fill out an accident report Notice of Accidental Injury or Occupational Disease (8aWCA, 7-2014) and give it to your employer. Make sure to keep a copy for yourself.