Workers' Compensation

People (humans) get hurt on the job. No, your boss making fun of your new haircut in the middle of a presentation that could make or break your job doesn’t count (not that we’re saying it shouldn’t—we feel you). We’re talking about breaking bones, backs, and many other unpleasurable things that we’d rather not list. We trust your imagination.

When a worker gets injured in the US, they can submit a claim for workers’ compensation. Workers' compensation is a public system that pays money to workers who have become injured or disabled while on the job. It can help put food on the table and pay medical bills. Just because workers’ comp is a thing doesn’t mean it’s easy to get. You have to prove things, like that you were injured on the job rather than on your Saturday boating day. You also can’t sue your employer if you want workers’ comp—it’s a one-or-the-other type of thing.

Workers' comp is rife with fraud, derelicts, and bums. A slurry of The Simpsons episodes covered it; Bart had mastered the ruse. The industry is massive; like, a trillion bucks a year massive. It didn't exist 100 years ago. Today, it may "over exist."

Related or Semi-related Video

Finance: What are Unemployment Benefits?3 Views

00:00

Finance Allah Shmoop What are unemployment benefits Well a century

00:08

ago and you lost your job This is what happened

00:10

to you then this and then this Well the government

00:14

decided that America was better than this and that there

00:17

should be a shock absorber in the personal economies of

00:20

individuals when they were fired And yes sometimes employees did

00:24

such a lousy job at work They deserve to get

00:27

fired But other times cos downsized into higher divisions so

00:30

employees who are at no fault of their own were

00:33

fired And other times injuries illness and other factors played

00:36

a role in turning this guy into this guy So

00:39

the U S Government created an unemployment benefit system that

00:43

filtered through out the country And it was a kind

00:46

of buffer when an employee went from earning a grand

00:49

a week Teo nothing Unemployment benefits comprise a few things

00:53

Well first there's the money And in order for there

00:55

to be money in the till somewhere too Hey for

00:57

that unemployment benefit system the US introduced attacks that basically

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socks away money for the future with certainty that well

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at some point a whole lot of people will be

01:07

unemployed and appreciate the buffer It's a fair question to

01:10

ask What about the people who were planners plotters preparers

01:14

for a rainy day But why do you tax those

01:17

people so that they then pay for workers who got

01:20

fired and weren't disciplined enough to save their own damn

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money Well it's kind of the price you pay for

01:25

being a superpower So yeah the US does have freeloaders

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criminals leeches on the system lazy people and bad workers

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But we have so many more of the good egg

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kind of people that we can at least as faras

01:36

today goes afford TTO have a generous unemployment system So

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how does one actually qualify for unemployment benefits Well usually

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you have to have lived in your state for at

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least a year before collecting them and typically you have

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to show that you're continually actively seeking employment and not

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just binging Handmaid's tale on your sofa And often you

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have to show that you were laid off through no

01:59

fault of your own Like if you were fired from

02:02

RVs for throwing four pounds of roast beef at the

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head of a customer No you'll probably need to look

02:07

into you know Plan B i e soliciting your family

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for alone instead of hoping unemployment covers Yeah And well

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don't expect the benefits to allow you to continue your

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existing quality of life Generally even if you do qualify

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for benefits well you'll get about a third or after

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our last of your old salary So you're less likely

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to end up on easy street with unemployment benefits than 00:02:29.25 --> [endTime] you are to end up on the streets

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