On this short video I’d like to discuss the importance of Worker’s Compensation. While worker’s compensation is federally mandated it is state administered and so depending upon the state or states in which you operate you will have different requirements.
From a practical standpoint, I believe that all businesses that have employees should have worker’s compensation insurance. It protects both the employer and employee from workplace injuries or illnesses. It doesn’t matter who is at fault, in most cases when an incident occurs while the employee is on the clock, they would be covered. The last thing any business owner needs is to be held liable for a serious work-related incident which could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Again, as I mentioned earlier, worker’s compensation requirements vary from state to state. In some states the employer can self-fund their policy. In other states, the insurance is obtained through the state and premiums are paid directly to the state.
In most cases, jobs are classified into categories and assigned codes based on the risk of injury or illness that job has. Then those codes are assigned a premium rate which is expresses as dollars and cents per $100 dollars of payroll. The higher the risk the higher the premium.
For example, a job such as a secretary or accountant who works at a desk the majority of the day would have a lower rate than that of a nurse who is exposed to illnesses, needle sticks, etc.
Once you gotten worker’s compensation, it is critical that you communicate the process should there be a workplace incident to your employees. Posters or electronic notices should be visible to all employees explaining the process. Employees need to understand that no matter minor an incident may be, all should be reported to management. All incidents should be documented even if not reported to the carrier. You just never know when something may come up down the road.
If you would like to learn more about worker’s compensation or any other Human Resource matter, please reach out to me.
