While on scheduled break with the boss and coworkers at their usual place the employee has an injury. You subsequently receive a call from applicant attorney asking why havent paid benefits to the employee. You call the employer and the employer says they did not report it because they did not think it was compensable. A. The employer should have reported it because the employee reported the claim. B. The employer should have repoprted it because any injury us compensable. C. The employer should have reported it because the employee was recieving wages during the break. D. The employer should have reported it becayse the off premises breaks were customary and had the approval of the employer.

• A. The employer should have reported it because the employee reported the claim.
• B. The employer should have reported it because any injury is compensable.
• C. The employer should have reported it because the employee was receiving wages during the break.
• D. The employer should have reported it because the off premises breaks were customary and had the approval of the employer.

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that injuries occurring during an employer-approved, customary break are still in the course of employment. Because the off-premises breaks were part of the usual workplace routine and had the employer’s approval, the employee’s injury is considered compensable. That makes it appropriate for the employer to report the claim to the workers’ compensation carrier and begin benefits processing, regardless of what the employee did or did not do after the injury.

Why the other thoughts aren’t as fitting: simply because the employee reported the claim doesn’t remove the employer’s duty to report; the obligation exists when the employer becomes aware of a potentially compensable injury. Not every injury is compensable—injuries that aren’t in the course of employment or arise outside approved break contexts may not be. And being paid during a break doesn’t, by itself, determine compensability; the decisive factor here is that the break was customary and approved by the employer, keeping the injury within the scope of employment.