Is a worker who was injured in a crash while driving a company vehicle to work for supplies entitled to workers’ compensation benefits?
The New Jersey Supreme Court upheld an appeals court decision that granted the worker benefits, finding that since he was in a company vehicle and going to the shop specifically for supplies his injuries were work-related.
Company vehicles could be kept at home
Henry Keim worked as a pest-control technician for Above All Termite & Pest Control.
The company provided Keim with a vehicle for work use. Above All had a policy that allowed its technicians to keep their work vehicles at home. That allowed them to travel from their residences directly to the company’s various worksites before returning home at the end of their shifts.
Supplies kept in vehicles overnight were limited
Above All had another policy that limited the amount of supplies technicians could keep in their company vehicles overnight. When they needed more supplies, technicians were required to drive to Above All’s shop, collect what they needed and then travel to their first worksite of the day.
On the morning of a date that wasn’t provided in the court records, Keim clocked in from home, received his schedule and determined that he didn’t have enough supplies in his company vehicle. On his way to the shop for supplies, he was injured in a crash.
Judge said he was ‘merely commuting to work’
Keim filed a workers’ compensation claim, which Above All contested. A Judge of Compensation dismissed the claim, finding that Keim was “merely commuting to work when he sustained injuries.”
In front of an appeals court, Keim argued that he was in the course of his employment when he was injured and should receive workers’ compensation benefits. The court agreed, ruling that the “authorized vehicle rule” applied because Above All authorized a vehicle for Keim to operate and his operation of that vehicle when the crash occurred was for business authorized by the company.
Authorized vehicle rule meant he could collect benefits
The New Jersey Supreme Court agreed with the appeals court’s reasoning and upheld the decision to allow Keim to collect benefits on Nov. 21, 2023.
The authorized vehicle rule said that employment of any employee who used an employer authorized vehicle commenced and terminated with the authorized operation of that vehicle on business authorized by the employer.
This rule doesn’t apply every time an employee uses the vehicle and doesn’t apply when the employee is simply commuting to work.
In Keim’s case, he met every one of the “authorized” provisions of the rule because he was:
- using a company vehicle he was authorized to use
- authorized to keep it at home and operate it to drive directly to jobsites, and
- authorized to travel to the shop for supplies before driving to his first jobsite of the day.
In short, he wasn’t simply commuting to work when he was injured in the crash. He was traveling on company business to collect materials needed to do his job, which meant his injuries were sustained in the course of his employment, according to the court.
