What is the primary condition for determining if an injury or illness is compensable under a workers' compensation policy?

The primary condition for determining if an injury or illness is compensable under a workers' compensation policy is that the injury arose out of and in the course of employment. This condition is essential because workers' compensation is designed to provide benefits to employees for injuries or illnesses that occur while they are performing work-related duties.

For an injury to be compensable, it must be directly linked to the work environment or activities pertaining to the job. This means that if an employee sustains an injury while performing tasks related to their job responsibilities or while working on the employer's premises, they are typically eligible for compensation. This underscores the goal of workers' compensation programs, which is to protect workers against lost wages and medical expenses that result from work-related injuries.

Other options, such as the injury occurring during personal time or the duration of employment, do not focus on the employment context of the injury. While timely reporting of the injury is important for claims processing, it does not influence the core issue of whether the injury itself is work-related. Therefore, the correct option highlights the fundamental requirement that ties the compensability of the injury directly to the employee's job duties.