Was Clerk Injured Returning to In-person Work Entitled to Benefits?

What Do You Think?

Even when an employee is not on the clock and nowhere near the office when she's injured, she may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. That can happen, for instance, if she can prove she was on a “special errand.” But if a person is just packing work equipment in their driveway in the morning, is that a special errand? A case involving an employee starting a hybrid schedule after pandemic-related remote work answers that question.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the county sent the claimant, a clerical and customer service worker, and its other employees home with their computer equipment so they could work remotely. The claimant worked a fixed schedule during that stretch until the county ordered employees to start a hybrid schedule. It ordered the claimant to return to work on a specific date and be ready to start working at 8 a.m. 

She awoke a little earlier than usual on the appointed day so she would have time to pack her equipment and set it up at work in time to start. The county didn’t have other equipment she could use. While loading her van, she fell and injured her back.

The county argued the injury wasn’t compensable because it did not occur in the course and scope of employment.

Generally, an employee's injury sustained while traveling to or from work isn’t compensable. The “special-errand” exception provides that the accident occurs in the course of employment, and thus may be compensable, when:

1. The employer made an express or implied request that the service be performed after working hours; and
2. The employee has fixed hours of employment.

Was the claimant in the course of employment when she was injured?

A. No. She was not on her employer’s premises and her work shift had not begun.

B. Yes. Her employer required her to start at 8 a.m. and didn’t have equipment for her other than the equipment she had taken home.

If you selected B, you agreed with the court in Ludwig v. Dakota County, No. A24-1989 (Minn. 04/22/26), which ruled that the injury was compensable.

Even though the accident occurred outside of work, and not during work hours, the claimant was in the course of employment because she was on a special errand.

First, this was not a case where she was merely engaging in a regular commute to work when she was injured. Instead, her employer had, without actually saying it, required her to pack her equipment and bring it to the office. This was because it gave her a specific date and time to state in-person work and it had no alternative equipment for her to use. Further, she was within the time constraints of work; she had arisen early so she could pack and still start on time and thus comply with her employer’s directions. 

Because the special errand rule applied, the court ruled against the employer.

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