Every state’s law is different, but typically employers are required to provide safe routes for employees from their vehicles into work.
This means if an employee is injured by tripping and falling in the designated parking lot on the way into or out from work, it could be considered a work injury, making the employee eligible for workers’ compensation medical and wage loss benefits.
It’s not uncommon, and the injuries are often serious.
Injuries aren’t just bad for your employees. Having a lot of claims can negatively affect your costs as an employer, too.
Keep parking lots maintained
It’s very important to make sure that parking lots are well-maintained — cleared of snow and ice in the winter and free of cracks and other trip hazards. Use SFM’s free, downloadable Slip and Fall Audit Form to check for hazards in your parking lot.
Make employees aware of hazards
Your employees can also play a role in avoiding slip-and-fall injuries by walking carefully (like a penguin!) and wearing appropriate footwear. See SFM’s winter slip-and-fall prevention page for posters, table tents and other resources you can use to keep fall prevention top of mind for employees.
For more on this topic, see our Q&A video:
Other resource: Injuries while entering and leaving the workplace: a primer (on SFM website)
This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for your employment practices.