Hate crimes occur in the workplace in every state. However,
across the nation there is very little case law explaining whether
hate crimes are compensable under workers' compensation law.
California is one of the few states that has enacted legislation
explicitly prohibiting the denial of workers' compensation
benefits based solely on an assailant's hatred of an
employee-victim based on their membership to a protected class. But
most states' workers' compensation statues are not clear on
whether hate crimes are compensable under workers'
compensation.
Pittsburgh Associate Kyle Black was featured as a guest on
the Legal Talk Network's Workers'
Compensation Matters podcast episode titled "Does
Workers' Compensation Cover Hate Crimes in the Workplace?"
which explores whether hate crimes are compensable under the
typical language of, and principles applied to, workers'
compensation statutes. Specifically, Kyle explained how to
determine whether hate crimes in the
