Privacy Policy

Effective date: April 25, 2026

Introduction

This privacy policy explains what information Workers' Comp Calculator collects when you use this website, how we use it, and what we do not do with it. We have written this policy in plain English because we believe you deserve a clear answer — not a wall of legal text designed to obscure what is actually happening with your data.

This policy covers all pages at workerscompcalculator.com, including the calculator tool, all state-specific calculator pages, and this contact form. If you have a question this policy does not answer, you can reach us through our contact page.

What We Collect

When you use the calculator, our server logs the following information for analytics and abuse prevention:

Session ID: A random string that your browser generates when you first visit. It has no connection to your identity — it is simply a way to distinguish one anonymous visit from another within the same browsing session. It expires when you close your browser.
Hashed IP address: We apply a SHA-256 hash to your IP address before storing it. Hashing is a one-way mathematical process — the stored value cannot be reversed to recover your original IP address. We store the hash, not the IP. This lets us detect patterns like repeated requests from the same network without ever knowing who you are.
Referrer domain: If you arrived at this site by clicking a link on another website, we record the domain name of that site (for example, "google.com" or "reddit.com"). We do not record the full URL of the page you came from — only the domain.
Calculation inputs: When you submit a calculation, we log the inputs you provided — state, injury type, average weekly wage, weeks out, and impairment rating. We use this data in aggregate to understand which states and injury types are most commonly searched, so we can prioritize improvements and new state additions.

When you submit a message through our contact form, we collect the name, email address, subject, and message body you provide. We use this information solely to respond to your message. Contact form submissions are kept for one year and then permanently deleted.

What We Do NOT Collect

We want to be explicit about what we do not collect, because most tools in this space collect far more than they disclose:

We do not collect your name from calculator use.
We do not collect your email address from calculator use.
We do not collect your phone number — ever, from any page.
We do not collect your Social Security number or any government-issued identifier.
We do not store your raw IP address. Ever. The hashed version we store cannot be reversed.
We do not collect any information that could identify you personally from your use of the calculator. The calculator is fully anonymous.
We do not sell, rent, share, or broker your data to attorneys, law firms, insurance companies, or lead generation companies.

How We Use Data

Calculator logs are used for two purposes only: detecting abuse (such as automated scraping or bot traffic) and understanding aggregate usage patterns so we can improve the tool. We look at which states are most requested, which injury types are most common, and whether our response times are acceptable. We do not look at individual calculation records to identify or profile any user.

Contact form submissions are used exclusively to respond to your message. We do not add you to any mailing list. We do not share your contact information with any third party. If you ask us a question and we answer it, that is the end of the interaction — we do not follow up, market to you, or share your information with anyone.

Google AdSense

This site is supported by Google AdSense advertising. Google uses cookies and similar technologies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website and other websites across the internet. This is called interest-based advertising or personalized advertising.

We do not control which specific ads Google serves on this site, and Google's collection of data for ad personalization is governed by Google's Privacy Policy, not this one.

If you prefer not to see personalized ads, you can opt out of interest-based advertising by visiting Google's Ads Settings. You can also opt out through the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page. Note that opting out does not mean you will stop seeing ads — it means the ads you see will not be personalized to your interests.

Cookies

This site sets two types of cookies:

Session cookie (required): Laravel, the web framework this site runs on, sets a session cookie that is required for CSRF protection — a security measure that prevents unauthorized form submissions. This cookie contains a random identifier, not any personal information. It is deleted when you close your browser. You cannot disable this cookie and use the contact form simultaneously, because CSRF protection depends on it.
Google AdSense cookies: Google sets advertising cookies to serve and measure ads. These are third-party cookies set by Google, not by us. See the Google AdSense section above for details on how to manage them.

We do not set any first-party tracking or analytics cookies. We do not use any tracking pixels.

Data Retention

Calculator logs (hashed IP, session ID, calculation inputs, referrer domain) are retained for 90 days and then permanently deleted. We use this window to detect and respond to patterns of abuse. After 90 days, individual log records are gone.

Contact form submissions (name, email, subject, message) are retained for one year. We keep them long enough to respond to any follow-up questions related to the original message. After one year, contact records are permanently deleted.

GDPR Rights (EU Users)

If you are located in the European Union or European Economic Area, you have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation:

Right of access: You can request a copy of any personal data we hold about you.
Right to deletion: You can request that we delete any personal data we hold about you.
Right to portability: You can request your data in a portable format.
Right to rectification: You can request that we correct inaccurate data.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us through our contact page. Note that because calculator use is anonymous (we store only hashed IPs, not names or emails), we have no way to identify or retrieve calculator log records associated with a specific individual. GDPR requests primarily apply to contact form submissions.

CCPA Rights (California Users)

If you are a California resident, you have the following rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act:

Right to know: You can request to know what categories of personal information we collect and how we use it.
Right to delete: You can request deletion of personal information we have collected from you.
Right to non-discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA rights.

We do not sell personal information to third parties. We do not sell data to attorneys, lead generation companies, or anyone else. This applies to all users, not just California residents.

Children

This website is not intended for users under 18 years of age. Workers' compensation is a legal and financial topic relevant to adults in the workforce. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has submitted information through our contact form, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy when we add new features, add new states, or when laws change. When we update it, we will change the effective date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this page periodically if you use the site regularly. Continued use of the site after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy, believe we have made an error, or want to exercise any of the rights described above, please use our contact page. We do not publish an email address directly on this page to reduce exposure to spam.