Extraterritorial coverage refers to the extension of state workers' compensation law to provide benefits for workers hired to work in one state, but injured while working in another state.
The difficulty in determining which state has jurisdiction in these situations intensifies when defining significant contacts. Each state has different definitions of “significant contacts.” In determining if extraterritorial coverage applies to an employer, WSI considers the following:
- What is the nature of the employer’s business? Do the employer’s employees travel daily to another state to make deliveries or provide services?
- Do the business operations of the employer make the employer’s contact with another state more than incidental or occasional?
- In what state was the employment contract entered?
- Does the employer have a physical place of business in this state and do the employees regularly report or work from that place of business?
- What is the employee’s state of residence?
- Does the employer’s work require the employer to spend more than 30 consecutive calendar days in another jurisdiction?