It is well-established that injuries sustained while an employee is going to or leaving work are not compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act, yet the courts have long recognized an exception to this general principle known as the “ingress/egress rule,” which extends the “period of employment” to include a reasonable time for ingress to or egress from the place of work, such that injuries which occur on the employer's premise during such reasonable time may be compensable. See O.C.G.A.§ 34-9-1(4). In a practical manner, questions surrounding the application of the ingress/egress rule commonly arise when an employee is not “on the clock” but is nevertheless injured entering the employer's premise prior to beginning work, or alternatively, exiting the employer's premise following the conclusion of his or her work shift. While the application of the ingress/egress rule is not fixed and depends on the particular facts of each case, the courts have provided some guidance regarding potential “factors” to consider when determining compensability in these scenarios.
In determining the compensability of an accident which occurs while an employee is entering the employer's premise to begin work, or alternatively exiting the employer's premise to leave work following the completion of a shift, legal precedent shows the ingress/egress rule encompasses accidents which occur on the employer's premise during the “reasonable time” necessary or required for the employee to begin or leave work at the proper time. In determining how much time constitutes a “reasonable” period for ingress or egress, during which an employee may still be considered in the course of employment, the courts provide guidance through a two-prong analysis. First, the
To provide some examples, the courts have consistently denied compensability when an employee is entering or exiting an employer's premise one or more hours from the start or end of a scheduled work shift, especially where there is no evidence the employee's presence on the employer's premise at the time of the accident was for any work-related reason incidental to his or her employment. See e.g., Huff v.
In sum, whether an employee is clocked-in or clocked-out of work at the of an accident may be relevant to a particular case, yet it is not in-and-of-itself a deciding factor in determining the compensability of an accident which occurs on the employer's premise before or after the employee was scheduled to begin or end work. Instead, the ingress/egress rule essentially involves a determination as to the length of timebetween the accident and the time which the employee's shift was scheduled to begin or end, while also considering if the employee's presence on the employer's premise at the time of the accident was related the performance of any employment-related activity necessary or required to begin or end work at the proper time.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
Suite 3500
GA 30308
Tel: 404885 1400
E-mail: www.deflaw.com/
URL: www.deflaw.com/
© Mondaq Ltd, 2024 - Tel. +44 (0)20 8544 8300 - http://www.mondaq.com, source