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Stepped on Toy Working From Home
Question:
An employee injured her ankle while working from home due to the pandemic. Her employer directed her to work from home, along with all other employees that could. On a normal business day, while the employee was working, she walked to the kitchen to get something to drink and stepped on her child's toy. Her ankle rolled which resulted in a sprain. The employee was issued prescription-strength ibuprofen by a healthcare professional. Is it recordable?
Answer:
NO. The employee was injured by stepping on a children's toy, which is not directly related to the performance of work but rather to the general home environment or setting.
From a Letter of Interpretation: Section 1904.5(b)(7) states: How do I decide if a case is work-related when the employee is working at home? Injuries and illnesses that occur while an employee is working at home, including work in a home office, will be considered work-related if the injury or illness occurs while the employee is performing work for pay or compensation in the home, and the injury or illness is directly related to the performance of work rather than to the general home environment or setting. For example, if an employee drops a box of work documents and injures his or her foot, the case is considered work-related. If an employee's fingernail is punctured by a needle from a sewing machine used to perform garment work at home, becomes infected and requires medical treatment, the injury is considered work-related. If an employee is injured because he or she trips on the family dog while rushing to answer a work phone call, the case is not considered work-related. If an employee working at home is electrocuted because of faulty home wiring, the injury is not considered work-related.