Accessing Workers' Compensation Insurance for Consumer-Employed Personal Assistance Service Workers: Issues, Challenges and Promising Practices

This report focuses on workers' compensation laws and systems as they pertain to domestic service workers, and in particular, PAS workers in 50 states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories and one tribal government and addresses the following questions: (1) How do workers' compensation programs work; (2) What states and territories afford individuals with disabilities who are household employers the opportunity to purchase workers' compensation insurance coverage for their domestic service workers, and in particular for PAS workers; (3) How accessible is workers' compensation insurance coverage for household employers who hire domestic service, and in particular, PAS workers directly; (4) How affordable are workers' compensation insurance policies for household employer hiring domestic service/PAS workers; (5) What are the issues and challenges have been reported by state workers' compensation agency staff and insurance carriers regarding the administration of workers' compensation systems and the provision of insurance for domestic service and PAS workers; and (6) What promising practices have been implemented by jurisdictions to facilitate public programs arranging and paying for workers' compensation insurance for service recipients who hire domestic service/PAS workers, thereby reducing the risk of liability related to workplace injury for state program agencies and service recipients? [172 PDF pages]