workers' compensation

noun

variants or less commonly workers' comp

-ˈkämp

: a system of insurance that reimburses an employer for damages that must be paid to an employee for injury occurring in the course of employment

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Peck's workers' compensation claim was never approved. —

Alexandra Hardle, The Arizona Republic, 5 Apr. 2023 Alternatively, your company could assign a workers' compensation insurance provider to conduct the study. —

Johnny C. Taylor Jr., USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2023 Abigail Zwerner in Virginia on March 20.Carlos Bernate for NBC News Lawyer Jeffrey Breit disagreed with the idea that Zwerner's negligence suit should be a workers' compensation claim under Virginia law since theoretically, workers can't sue their own employers. —

Erik Ortiz, NBC News, 3 Apr. 2023 Another issue raised by the players' association is Ohio's statute of limitations on workers' compensation claims, which expire five years after the date of the last payment or last medical services rendered. —

Haley Bemiller, The Enquirer, 15 Mar. 2023 The fund analyzed more than 3,000 COVID-19 workers' compensation claims during the first two years of the pandemic. —

Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 24 Jan. 2023 During the 1990s, Mr. Waldrep fought to be regarded as an employee of T.C.U. at the time of his catastrophic injury, which would have qualified him for workers' compensation payments. —

New York Times, 9 Mar. 2022 Californians voted in November to pass Proposition 22, or Prop 22, which exempts companies like Uber from having to classify their gig workers in the state as employees entitled to basic rights and protections such as workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, family leave, or sick leave. —

Sara Ashley O'brien, CNN, 14 Dec. 2020 The California Department of Insurance noted in its statement that workers' compensation insurance fraud in the 2020-21 fiscal year potentially resulted in a loss of $161.94 million to Golden State businesses and workers at large. —

Shafiq Najib, Peoplemag, 3 Sep. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'workers' compensation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1925, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of workers' compensation was in 1925

See more words from the same year

Dictionary Entries Near workers' compensation

worker-priest

workers' compensation

work ethic

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Workers' compensation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/workers%27%20compensation. Accessed 6 Jun. 2023.

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Legal Definition

workers' compensation

noun

work·ers' compensation

: compensation for injury to an employee arising out of and in the course of employment that is paid to the worker or his or her dependents by an employer whose strict liability for such compensation is established by statute

Note: Where established by statute, workers' compensation is generally the exclusive remedy for injuries arising from employment, with some exceptions. Workers' compensation statutes commonly include explicit exclusions for injury caused intentionally, by willful misconduct, and by voluntary intoxication from alcohol or illegal drugs.

: workers' compensation insurance