Our Industry-leading Partners
How would your business run without your employees? Would you be able to keep operating as normal for any significant length of time or would everything immediately grind to a halt? Most employers will not even want to consider the possibility of losing their staff for any reason.
On the basis that you can’t do without them, you have to factor in everything that comes with employing them – the good and the bad.
There may be marriages, babies, many years’ service, professional achievements, and a range of other celebratory occasions, but you also have to remember that human beings are not infallible.
There will inevitably be occasions when employees will get sick or injured, with many occurrences happening at work. For their sake and yours, it is always hoped that they suffer something short term that can soon be resolved, but this is not always going to be the case. There is a multitude of ways in which this can occur, from losing fingers in industrial machinery to contracting lung disease after breathing in particles at work and everything in-between.
With this in mind, it is a good idea to ensure you have workers compensation insurance in place; this will ensure that you can take care of the situation should any employee suffer injury, disability, or illness as a result of being on the job whether on the premises for not.
Not a good idea, I hear you cry? Tough luck! In most states, all employers in the private sector – even if they only have one employee – are required to purchase workers compensation insurance or qualify as self-insurers. Accordingly, it is both a criminal and a civil offense to fail to maintain workers compensation insurance; this could result in penalties of a stop work order, a fine of $100 per day, and/or a period of imprisonment of up to a year. The exception is sole proprietors and partnerships who are not required to obtain workers compensation insurance for themselves, but they can on a voluntary basis if they wish.
US law dictates that all businesses – regardless of their size or industry type – must have workers compensation insurance, which will provide benefits to the afflicted employees. All permanent, full-time employees must be covered from day one, whereas it is an elective for seasonal, casual, and part-time domestic workers. A notice must be posted at each of the company’s locations displaying the insurance provider’s details.
While you might be dreaming of the day where AI and robotics will be perfected so that you do not have to worry about the trials and tribulations of employees, we are not there yet as it could be too expensive, untested, or unsuitable. Accordingly, you do need to be prepared and ensure that you comply with the law.
Econosurance can give you advice on the workers compensation insurance requirements of your business and give you a quote. Call us at 617-864-2444 or fill our easy online form.
