Laufer v. Bre/Esa P Portfolio, LLC

**What Happened:** A worker named Laufer was injured while crossing a street to get to his employer's workplace. He applied for workers' compensation benefits, claiming his injury should be covered because it happened while he was coming to work. However, the Workers' Compensation Appeal Board denied his claim for disability compensation, apparently deciding that his street-crossing injury didn't qualify for coverage under workers' compensation law. **What the Court Decided:** The court disagreed with the Workers' Compensation Appeal Board and reversed their decision. The court ruled that Laufer's injury while crossing the street to reach his employer's plant did fall under workers' compensation law's "coming-and-going provision." The court sent the case back to the board to properly determine whether Laufer was actually disabled from his injury. **Why This Matters for Workers:** This ruling clarifies that workers can potentially receive compensation for injuries that happen while traveling to their workplace, even if they haven't technically arrived yet. The "coming-and-going" provision protects workers during their commute in certain circumstances. This decision reinforces that workers' compensation coverage can extend beyond just injuries that occur inside the workplace building itself.