Hybrid work has changed how many people in Maryland perform their jobs. You might work from home several days a week, travel to an office on other days or visit clients during the workweek.
If you suffer an injury while traveling or working from home, whether workers’ compensation applies depends on what you were doing when the injury occurred. Maryland still follows the traditional “coming and going” rule, which usually excludes injuries that occur during a routine commute between home and a regular workplace.
Common hybrid work situations
Hybrid schedules can raise workers’ compensation questions in situations such as:
- Driving from home to your regular workplace, which generally counts as a normal commute
- Traveling from your office to a client meeting as part of your job duties
- Driving between two work locations during the workday
- Making a special trip at your employer’s request
- Suffering an injury while performing work duties from your home office
Each situation involves different work activities, which can affect whether workers’ compensation applies.
Why similar situations can lead to different outcomes
Two employees could suffer similar injuries, yet their workers’ compensation claims could have different outcomes. The difference may come down to what each employee was doing when the injury occurred.
For example, driving from home to your regular workplace will generally differ from driving from the office to a client meeting during the workday. The first trip usually counts as a normal commute, while the second may qualify as work-related travel. Likewise, an injury that occurs while you perform your job from a home office raises different questions than an injury that occurs while you take care of a personal task at home.
Hybrid work has not changed the rule itself
Maryland still applies the traditional “coming and going” rule when evaluating workers’ compensation claims. What has changed is the variety of work arrangements that employees now have.
As a result, injuries involving home offices, client visits and travel between work locations may require a closer look at what the employee was doing when the injury occurred. Hybrid work has not changed the legal standard, but it has created more situations where determining whether an injury occurred in the course of employment can become less straightforward.
