COVID-19 and Your Workers' Comp Claim

What is COVID-19, and can I get the virus at work?
The COVID-19 virus is thought to spread mainly from person to person. Typically, the people have to be in close contact, within 6 feet of one another. The virus is spread through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These coughs or sneezes don’t have to directly land on another individual. The droplets can be on an individual’s hand when they shake hands with someone else, or they can be on a surface of an object that is touched by a healthy individual. They also can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby via an uncovered sneeze or cough.

If an individual is sick with the coronavirus or has come in contact with someone who has the coronavirus, the treatment at the present time is quarantine and isolation. This will lessen the risk that the infected individual will pass on the virus to others.

The flu and COVID-19 have very similar symptoms. These include fever, coughing, fatigue, body aches and vomiting. Both the flu and COVID-19 can be mild or severe. If someone is sick and experiencing trouble breathing or a fever that will not break, call a doctor.

Can I get workers’ compensation for getting sick at work?
Georgia Code §34-9-280(2) defines an “occupational disease” as:Diseases which arise out of and in the course of the particular trade, occupation, process, or employment in which the employee is exposed to such disease, provided the employee or the employee’s dependents first prove to the satisfaction of the State Board of Workers’ Compensation all of the following:

(A) A direct causal connection between the conditions under which the work is performed and the disease;
(B) That the disease followed as a natural incident of exposure by reason of the employment;
(C) That the disease is not of a character to which the employee may have had substantial exposure outside of the employment;
(D) That the disease is not an ordinary disease of life to which the general public is exposed;
(E) That the disease must appear to have had its origin in a risk connected with the employment and to have flowed from that source as a natural consequence.

Accordingly, COVID-19 is not considered an "occupational disease" under Georgia Workers' Compensation law. This is because COVID-19 is a type of disease that an individual would have substantial exposure to outside of their employment. In other words, COVID-19 isn’t unique to any specific type of employment. Occupational diseases typically involve a disease that is very specific to a certain type of job. An example of this might be lung cancer caused by inhalation of a certain type of smoke due to a closed working environment.

What if my employer won’t let me come to work or is closed?
While the coronavirus may not be a compensable occupational disease in Georgia, it may have other repercussions and ramifications which do relate to workers’ compensation. For example, if businesses start to close as a result of the virus, companies may not be able to offer previously injured workers employment within their work restrictions. If this happens, the injured worker would be eligible to receive temporary total disability benefits.



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