The Going and Coming Rule is a very complex part of the Workers’ Compensation law.
The rule covers traveling to and from work, and whether such travel arises in the course and scope of employment. In order to fall under the Florida workers’ compensation laws, an employee’s actions must arise in the course and scope of Pursuant to Florida Statutes Section 440.092(2), workers traveling to or from work are not in the course and scope of employment unless they are on duty, on a special call, or are in transportation provided by the employer. The theory behind the rule is simple: there must be a link between traveling to or from work to the job. Without such a link, an accident suffered during travel to and from work does not arise out of and in the course of employment.
Take for example John who is a salesperson for the XYZ company. Assume that as part of his job duties, John travels to customer homes with his personal vehicle in order to make sales. In one scenario, John has just completed a sale at a customer’s house and is on his way to another customer’s house when he is involved in a car accident. Since John was traveling from one customer’s house to another when the accident occurred, there was a link between his traveling and the job. Thus, the accident did occur in the course and scope of his employment.
In a second scenario, assume that John is driving to his own house for a quick stop to eat lunch after visiting the first customer, but before he visits the second customer when the car accident occurs. In this case, the required link between the traveling and furthering his job duties does not exist since John went to his house for personal reasons. Therefore, the car accident did not occur within the course and scope of John’s employment and he will not be covered by the workers’ compensation laws.
The Going and Coming Rule has many exceptions which are too complex to discuss in a single article. That is why it is important to hire a workers’ compensation attorney who handles these types of situations. If you have this situation or know of someone who does, have them gives us a call at (877) 8174127.
