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Employer's Consent to Settlement

In some instances, an injured employee may desire to enter into a settlement of his claim against the third-party tortfeasor. However, it has been generally held that if the employee fails to gain the employer's consent to such settlement that the employee thereafter gives up any claim to future compensation from the employer. It has been held that an employee cannot circumvent the consent requirement by adding language into the settlement papers to the effect that neither the employer's nor the carrier's rights are to be affected.

"Substantial Gainful Activity" for Social Security Disability Determination

To be declared "disabled" for social security disability purposes, the individual must not be able to engage in any substantial gainful activity. "Substantial gainful activity" is a term of art used by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to mean doing significant physical or mental activity for pay or profit. An individual's work can still be substantial even though it is engaged in less than full-time. The SSA does not normally consider activities such as household chores, hobbies, school attendance, or participation in social programs or clubs to be substantial gainful activity.

Overpayments of Social Security Disability Benefits

An overpayment of social security disability benefits arises when the Social Security Administration has paid the recipient in excess of the amount that was actually due. The Commissioner of Social Security is authorized to collect the overpayment either by reducing the recipient's future payments, requiring the recipient or his estate to repay the excess amount, or by reducing the recipient's tax refund by the excess amount.

Domestic Servant Exemption

Workers' compensation coverage for domestic servants is limited. Such limitation is generally based on the exclusion for part-time employees or the statutory exemption for employers with less than the requisite minimum number of employees. Many states specifically exclude domestic servants from workers' compensation coverage. Others omit to place domestic servants on the list of covered employments. However, almost half of the states provide at least a measure of coverage for those employed as domestic servants.

Corporate Executives and Partners

Depending upon an individual's position within a company, he may or may not be covered by workers' compensation. Generally, it is "employees" who may claim workers' compensation benefits. Officers, such as a chief operating officer, president, corporate secretary, or chief financial officer, are usually covered just like regular employees. However, if such an officer gains a controlling ownership interest in the corporation, workers' compensation coverage may be lost. This is because the corporation has essentially become the alter ego of the officer and vice-versa. If workers' compensation coverage was still to be extended to the officer in such a situation, it would be like calling the officer both the employer and the employee. For coverage to be affected, some states require that the officer serve on the corporation's board of directors in addition to owning shares in the corporation.