Yes! Seasonal workers hired directly by the city are eligible to file workers compensation claims for any injuries that occur while on the job. So, remember to include those premium hours on your quarterly reports. An employee has 365 days from the date of injury to file a claim.
Is there anything you need to do differently with seasonal employee claims?
Nope! Remember to have an incident report completed for any on the job injuries, seasonal or regular. This helps your claims coordinator review the incident in further detail and to ensure treatment under the claim remains consistent with what was reported.
Does L&I handle seasonal claims differently?
No, but they may request additional wage information to establish the employee’s work pattern. Your claims coordinator may request one year of paystubs to show the worker’s “regular” work pattern, including all seasons they may work.
In determining whether employment is "exclusively seasonal" the L&I adjudicator must look at the activities performed by the worker at the time of injury. Employment is "exclusively seasonal" if the employee's work activities can only be performed during a certain period of the year in the geographical area where they are employed. This definition is no longer based upon work that is entirely dependent upon the seasons (fall, winter, spring, and summer).
For example: a fruit picker who only works during a particular growing season would be classified as "exclusively seasonal". Conversely, a retail sales clerk who is injured during the holiday season would not be classified as "exclusively seasonal" if the type of work performed was otherwise available year round.
Other questions?
Don’t hesitate to reach out to your designated AWC Retro claim coordinator, or contact us at retro@awcnet.org.