Florida Insurance Network

Here’s one only a lawyer could love.

It goes something like this: A woman drives to work one morning. It’s cold outside. The roads are icy. She trundles into the office, goes to her workstation and turns on her computer.

Whew! Break time! So she heads back outside for a smoke.

Now, maybe you’re thinking to yourself “why didn’t she smoke before going inside to work?” Or why didn’t she just smoke a butt in the car, then go inside? You thoughtless, inconsiderate lout, you. Why should she smoke in her car when she can smoke and get paid?

Anyway, our worker lights out to light up at the smoker’s outpost, which her employer established as a convenience for his nicotine-dependent employees who would otherwise ruin everyone else’s air with second-hand smoke and probably get the employer sued by a disgruntled ex-employee.

She stands out there, smokes and freezes her tush, then heads back inside. On her way she slips and falls, hurting her left knee, side and back. She’s not just embarrassed all laid out on the floor like a walrus. This poor woman is injured; on the job. Get the picture? That’s right – workers-comp claim.

“Oh, no you don’t!”, says her employer. “You smoke on your own time. We call that a ‘personal  errand,’ which doesn’t qualify as a work-related injury. Don’t expect us to pay your medical bills. You’re on your own, girl.”

“Excuse me,” says the employee. “I don’t think so.” And she sues the company. Well, time goes by and wouldn’t you know it? She loses the lawsuit. The court sides with the employer. No argument there, right? Wrong. The civil appeals court reversed the lower court. Turns out the employer is responsible for her injuries.

Damn! I hope they had good insurance.

By the way, Florida requires employers to purchase workers compensation insurance when they employ four or more people. Some business owners with less than four employees think this law absolves them from paying for work-related injuries. It doesn’t. It just absolves them from buying workers compensation insurance.

If you’ve got employees and no workers comp insurance, you might want to speak to an agent. Those medical bills can get real expensive.

Good luck. I’m going out for a smoke.

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• Office Politics and The Smokers Clique (socyberty.com)

Shocking news! Getting up off your ass is good for you. Yes, pulling your head out of that monitor, standing up and moving away from your cubicle is healthy.

Something called “The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy” actually studied 2,600 employees in the United Kingdom to conclude that work breaks are healthy and good for productivity.

They should have called me. I’d have told them for half the price. Besides that, I think they buried the lead on that report. It should have been: UK rivals US for workaholism.

So maybe you aren’t stunned by this “study” either but, if you employ people, there might be a valuable takeaway.

Workers-compensation rates are set by job classification.  A roofer pays more than a cubicle worker based on inherent risk of occupational injury. Every insurance company charges the same set of rates, so it’s not really a competitive market in the traditional sense.

But businesses can save money on workers-comp insurance. One way is by purchasing a policy that pays dividends. A business can boost its dividends by limiting claims.  Healthy-workplace policies pay off in dollars.

In this case, we’re talking about cubicle workers. According to the study of English worker bees, the ones who don’t take breaks get hurt more often. Those would be the people most likely to reduce dividends.

Brilliant idea: establish a policy that requires everyone to take a minimum 10-minute break every two or three hours and seriously enforce it. Just have everyone stand up and move around for about 10 minutes two or three times a day. It could pay off. Literally.