Traveling Employees: The Coming And Going Rule

A new decision has been handed down by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania regarding injuries suffered while commuting to and from work – often referred to as “the coming and going rule.” As a general rule, injuries sustained while traveling to and from work are not covered by workers’ compensation, but there are exceptions, including

1. an employee’s contract includes transportation to and from work;
2. the employee has no fixed place of work, and is considered a traveling employee;
3. the employee is on a special assignment for his employer; or
4. special circumstances are such that the employee is furthering the business of his employer.

Bark v. Sooner Steel, LLC, 540 C.D. 2021 (Pa. Cmwlth. Ct. Mar. 21, 2022), citing Rana v. WCAB., 170 A.3d 1279 (Pa. Cmwlth. Ct. 2017) and Holler v. WCAB (Tri Wire Eng’g Sols., Inc.), 104 A.3d 68, 71 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2014).”