Workers’ compensation, also known as worker’s comp or workman’s comp, is a type of insurance that provides wage replacement and medical benefits to workers who got hurt at work or fell ill due to work-related activities. It is usually more commonly used in types of jobs that require more physical intensive labor, such as in construction workplaces.

An employee is paid workers’ compensation either by the employer or the state. There are multiple ways that this can be done: a state-run insurance program, payments to an insurance company, or direct payments made to the employee by the company.

The types of benefits that the workers’ compensation insurance provides vary across the states. If you are unsure about the benefits for your state, you can look it up online or ask someone who has extensive knowledge about it, such as a workers’ comp lawyer.

One thing to consider is that workers’ compensation should not be confused with unemployment benefits or disability insurance. The compensation is only for workers who have been injured on the job in contrast to the disability insurance where it pays out the employees regardless or not if the injury or disability that occurred on the job.

It is worthwhile to note that when an employee does accept workers’ comp benefits, the employee waives their right to sue their employer. This point may come into play in certain situations where the employer may have done something wrong or is liable to compensate the employee further.