Healthcare workers who contract Ebola while caring for patients
will be covered under most states' workers' compensation
laws. However, non-healthcare employees who are infected by a
co-worker may have a more difficult time establishing eligibility
for workers' compensation benefits even though the illness
occurred at the workplace and during work hours because Ebola is
not "peculiar" to the non-healthcare
occupation.
To the extent that an employee contracts Ebola because he or she
violated the employer's protocols, an employer may have grounds
to defend. Generally, the legal standard required for such
disqualifications is quite high – employers must demonstrate
that the employee engaged in "willful misconduct."
In many states, negligence or even gross negligence is insufficient
for workers' compensation disqualification. If the
employer clearly articulated and strongly emphasized its safety
rules regarding Ebola prevention to its employees, it may be
possible
