What obligation does an employer have to pay wages for the time spent by an employee traveling to and being seen by a medical professional as a result of a work-related injury/illness?

Both state and federal law apply in this situation.

The federal regulation interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act provides that “[t]ime spent by an employee in waiting for and receiving medical attention on the premises or at the direction of the employer during the employee’s normal working hours on days when he is working constitutes hours worked.” (29 Code of Federal Regulations 785.43)

This means that the employer would be responsible for paying the employee wages on the day of the injury, up to the point in time the employee was scheduled to end his normal work day, since you required him to be seen by the medical professional as a result of his work-related injury.

The employer need not pay the employee for time spent at the medical professional’s office beyond what would have been the employee’s normal quitting time.

Furthermore, California Labor Code Section 4600(e)(1) makes it clear that the employee shall be compensated for follow-up medical appointments required by the employer or its insurance carrier by payment of a day of temporary disability indemnity from the workers’ compensation insurance carrier, and not the payment of wages by the employer.

To summarize, you would have to pay your employee his/her normal daily wages on the day the employee is injured and first goes to see a medical professional; but you would not be responsible to pay any wages beyond what the employee was scheduled to receive for that day.

Moreover, any other absences from work caused by the injury would be paid for by your workers’ compensation insurance company, and would not come directly from you, the employer.

For more information, visit What to Do When an Injury Occurs in the HR Library.​