Opinion ID: 2166474
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Workers' Compensation Act and Telecommuting

Text: The Workers' Compensation Act (Act), codified at Tennessee Code Annotated sections 50-6-101 to -801 (2005), is a legislatively created quid pro quo system where an injured worker forfeits any potential common law rights for recovery against his or her employer in return for a system that provides compensation completely independent of any fault on the part of the employer. See Tenn.Code Ann. § 50-6-108(a) (2005); Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Stevenson, 212 Tenn. 178, 368 S.W.2d 760, 762 (1963). The Act should be liberally construed in favor of compensation and any doubts should be resolved in the employee's favor. Knox v. Batson, 217 Tenn. 620, 399 S.W.2d 765, 772 (1966). However, this liberal construction requirement does not authorize courts to amend, alter, or extend its provisions beyond its obvious meaning. Middleton v. Allegheny Elec. Co., 897 S.W.2d 695, 698 (Tenn.1995). Finally, the Act is not a social welfare statute. Bishop Baking Co. v. Forgey, 538 S.W.2d 602, 604 (Tenn.1976). This case requires us to apply the Act to a new and growing trend in the labor and employment market: telecommuting. An employee telecommutes when he or she takes advantage of electronic mail, internet, facsimile machines and other technological advancements to work from home or a place other than the traditional work site. See Brianne M. Sullenger, Comment, Telecommuting: A Reasonable Accommodation Under the Americans With Disabilities Act As Technology Advances, 19 Regent U.L.Rev. 537, 544 (2006-2007) (Sullenger). In 2006, approximately thirty-four million American workers telecommuted to some degree. Id. Telecommuting is a flexible arrangement that affords many benefits not only to the employer and the employee, but also to the community. Employers often use telecommuting as a recruiting tool to attract new employees, and telecommuting has been credited with improving retention, productivity, loyalty, and morale. Id. at 546. Employers often use telecommuting as a way to reduce overhead expenses, such as office space rental. Similarly, employees enjoy many benefits of working at non-traditional work sites, such as reduced travel time and work-related stress, which results in increased time for family and personal activities. Id. at 546-47. Furthermore, society benefits from telecommuting with reductions in traffic congestion and pollution. [3] Id. at 547. Not surprisingly, however, this innovative working arrangement has resulted in an issue of first impression: whether the injuries a telecommuter sustains as a result of an assault at her home arise out of and occur in the course of her employment.