A further distinction occurs between employees with a fixed place of employment and those employees who travel on behalf of their employer. A fixed place of employment employee generally is not paid or covered under workers compensation while traveling to and from work. The employment contract includes transportation to and from work. The claimant has no fixed place of work. The claimant is on a special assignment for the employer.
Special circumstances are such that the claimant was furthering the business of the employer.
These exceptions all indicate that if a fixed place of employment employee is traveling on a mission for the employer, that employer will cover the employee for any injuries suffered while on that mission. In accordance with this rule, a police officer injured while commuting to work on a motorcycle was not covered under the workers compensation statute. Similarly, a construction worker injured in a company truck during lunch break away from the construction site was not within the course of his employment. Employees A traveling employee has a much broader scope. A traveling employee must be considered to have abandoned employment in order not to be covered under the workers compensation statutes.