Was Home Healthcare Worker an Employee for Va. Workers’ Comp Purposes?

What Do You Think?

A worker is generally considered an employee, not an independent contractor, if the company has the power to control her work. But what if she does all her work in a client's home without direct supervision? That was the issue in a case involving a home healthcare worker who fell down a staircase. 

The claimant in that case worked as a patient care assistant for a home healthcare company. She helped patients in their homes with things like feeding, bathing, cleaning, and checking vital signs. She was not allowed to take patients out of the home unless she got a greenlight from the company.

The company set her work hours and communicated with her through a mobile phone application. The application showed when, where, and how long she was scheduled to work each day. The company paid her hourly and withheld taxes. 

The company also required her to wear certain clothing and a badge showing she worked for the company. It also gave her all her supplies, such as gloves and masks. 

Once the claimant was in a client’s home, she had no supervisor physically present. She decided the daily routine and care structure. But the company required her to meet a minimum level of care. 

One day, she tripped on some loose carpet and fell on the stairs, injuring her right knee. The Uninsured Employers Fund argued that she was not entitled to benefits because she was an independent contractor.

In determining a worker's relationship to an employer, courts consider: 1) Selection and engagement of the employee; 2) Payment of wages; 3) Power of dismissal; and 4) Power of control of the employee's actions.

The last factor is the most important one. Generally, an employer-employee relationship exists only if the control reserved includes the power to control, not only the result to be accomplished, but also the means and methods by which the result is to be accomplished.

Was the claimant an employee?

A. No. Once she was in the home, she could call her own shots, deciding what the care would look like on a particular day.

B. Yes. The company controlled the hours she worked, what she wore, and the standard of care she was to meet.

If you selected B, you agreed with the court in Uninsured Employers Fund v. Hughes, No. 1 Record No. 1115-24-1 (Va. Ct. App. 07/08/25, unpublished), which held that the company had control over the means and outcome of the claimant’s work. Simply Research subscribers have access to the full text of the decision.

The court pointed out that the company hired her and assigned her the clients. She did not choose her own clients. It also set the standard of care and her work hours.

That was not all, however. The company also controlled what she wore and had her wear a company badge. It also provided her with gear. She provided no gear of her own.

It was true that she had no supervisor on site at clients' homes. But that didn't alter the fact that the company largely controlled her work, even barring her from taking clients out of the home without permission.

“In other words, [the company] exercised control not only over the result, but over the /means and methods/ of care as well,” the court said

Because the company had the power to control the claimant in the performance of her duties, she was an employee for purposes of eligibility for workers' compensation, the court held.

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