In most states, an individual in the normal commute to and from work is not considered “in course and scope” of employment. If employees have accidents on the way to or from work, they are usually on their own and will not have access to benefits under workers compensation. However, there are a number of circumstances when employees may be covered during the commute. For example:

• An on-call employee is called back to the workplace. This individual is usually covered from home to work and then from work back to home.
• An employee has no geographic starting point for employment (e.g., a salesperson). He or she heads off in a different direction every morning. There is no single “workplace.” This individual is covered from the time of leaving the home until returning.
• An employee conducts a work-related errand. An employee is asked to pick up some supplies on the way home. This “deviation” is considered part of employment and any accident or injury during the “deviation” from the regular route would be covered.
• An employee heads out for lunch in his personal vehicle (a “personal errand” not covered by workers compensation). A supervisor asks the employee to “pick up some fries.” This errand now has a work-related aspect and workers compensation may well apply under the “dual capacity” concept.

What is striking about these “to and fro” exceptions is how common they are. Even though employees in the above situations might drive only rarely under the workers compensation umbrella, in most states they are covered by workers compensation. Hence, any accidents would have a direct impact on the employer’s experience rating (or self-insurance, for those who cover their own losses).

Sometimes coverage may begin even before an employee gets into his or her car. On-call employees are covered from the moment they receive the call back to work; a fall down the stairs at home might be considered workers compensation! In a case from Connecticut, a salesman was asked to go out on the road immediately after a snowstorm. He didn’t want to go, but his supervisor insisted. While shoveling the snow from his driveway, he had a heart attack. The Connecticut Supreme Court determined that he was “in the course and scope” of employment, because he had to clear the driveway in order to operate the car. And he had to operate the car in order to carry out his job.