Workers' compensation benefits are paid to those who have suffered injury during the performance of their jobs. 

Workers' compensation records are an important tool in background investigations because they've a reliable and hard to fake source of information on a subject. Sometimes a subject in hiding cannot be found via a DMV check or other means yet continues to collect Workers' Comp benefits and can be located through the state Workers Compensation Bureau. 

Researching at state workers' compensation boards is, in general, restricted to determining if your subject has filed a claim, though some states -- such as Colorado, Florida, Illinois, and Ohio -- consider Workers' Compensation files public records. Other states will not release information at all. Note that state policies are continually being changed in this area.

It's no longer permissible to use information from workers' compensation boards in pre-employment screening (i.e., since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the early 1990s). However, in most states, it is legal for companies with 15 or more employees to review workers' compensation records after a conditional job offer has been made. (At this time, medical histories can, in most states, also be reviewed.) 

1. There is no such thing as a nationwide workers' compensation check. Records are maintained on a state-by-state basis. 
2. Under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (45 USCA Section 51 1908), employers are liable for on-the-job injuries; therefore most employers obtain private workers' compensation insurance on their workers who are exposed to possible injury. 
3. Most common reasons for performing workers' comp checks: (1) to prevent fraud, (2) to avoid reinjury, (3) to verify applicant's statements, (4) to qualify for second injury fund coverage, which is available in some states to insure previously injured workers. 
4. Employing an injury-prone worker, or one with a history of workers' comp fraud, can significantly increase a company's insurance rates.