subject: Minnesota Work Comp Laws [print this page] Minnesota Work Comp Laws Minnesota Work Comp Laws
Minnesota work comp laws exist to protect worker safety. These laws are grouped together within the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Act, which provides benefits for people who become injured while working. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry oversees this system.
Who is eligible for workers' compensation benefits?
Under the Minnesota work comp laws, in order to qualify for Minnesota workers' compensation benefits, three things must exist:
1.The employee must sustain a personal injury or occupational disease;
2.The personal injury or occupational disease must arise out of the employment; and
3.The personal injury or occupational disease must occur in the course of the employment.
What benefits are available to injured workers?
There are three main benefits under the Minnesota work comp laws:
1.Medical Benefits
Medical treatment is available for injured workers. Injured workers are entitled to choose their own treating doctor and any emergency treatment facility. Nonemergency surgeries must be preapproved by the workers' compensation insurer.
2.Rehabilitation Benefits
Rehabilitation benefits are available for some employees who sustain an injury at work. These are vocational rehabilitation benefits; physical rehabilitation benefits are available too, but are covered under the medical benefits. The goal of rehabilitation is to return an injured worker to suitable employment after the injury.
3.Wage Loss benefits
There are several wage loss benefits available to injured workers under the Minnesota work comp laws:
Temporary Total Disability benefits are paid to employees who are completely unable to work because of a work injury. This amount is calculated based on the employee's average weekly gross wages from the 26 weeks prior to the work injury, and is 2/3 of this average weekly wage, subject to a maximum limit.
Temporary Partial Disability benefits are paid to employees who are able to workbut not as much or at a lesser paying position. The compensation rate is 2/3 of the difference between what the employee earned at the time of the work injury, and what the employee is earning at the lesser paying job.
Permanent Total Disability benefits are available for workers who cannot work at anything other than sporadic employment.
Can injured workers sue their employers in addition to collecting work comp benefits?
Usually, the only recovery for an employee injured at work is the recovery of workers' compensation benefits. The Minnesota work comp laws represent a trade-off of sorts for the employee: the employee is guaranteed compensation for any employment-related injury regardless of fault; but the nature and extent of benefits is limited to that provided by the Act. As the Minnesota Supreme Court has explained, the employee gives up the right to tort damages against a negligent employer in exchange for a "lesser" recovery in cases where the employer is not at fault.
The Minnesota work comp laws are also a trade-off for employers: they make the employer liable in almost every case of workplace injury, but this liability is limited, even in cases where the employer is at fault.
