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The Employer Obligations on Workers’ Compensation – A Simple Guide

People work to earn a decent amount that will help them provide necessities for themselves and their families.

However, there are instances wherein accidents and other unfortunate circumstances happen in the workplace, injuring employees. In this case, an effective workers’ compensation program will prove to be beneficial.

Workers’ Compensation Employer Obligations

This article tackles the employer obligations as specified in workers’ compensation laws.

Workers’ Compensation in Brief

One of the primary obligations of employers is to ensure that they acquire ample workers’ compensation for their employees. A workers’ compensation is simply the insurance paid by an employer to ensure that their employees are covered in the event of any injury that the latter acquire while on duty.

For the part of the employees, this proves to be beneficial in helping them recover after an unfortunate incident, while for the part of the employers, this can be a guarantee that they won’t be sued by their employees.

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Most states, such as North and South Carolina, have workers’ compensation laws in place to protect the best interests of the employees trying to make a living.

As workers’ compensation programs are usually administered by the state, workplace accident victims throughout South and North Carolina can expect that they will be compensated for the injuries that they have sustained while performing their duty.

In this case, employees are not mandated to contribute to the premium because the employer must pay the premium in full.

Workers’ Compensation Coverage

While workers’ compensation is required by states for all employers, the level and type of coverage may slightly vary. States usually differ in policies when it comes to the employees who are covered as well as the types of injuries covered and the proof that needs to be presented. It’s worth speaking with a personal injury attorney who can help with advice on anything from a back injury compensation claim to something more severe.

Different states also vary in policies when it comes to the excluded injury as well as the length of time that an employee has to file a claim. Nonetheless, the employer should adhere to the basic coverage mandated by the state that they are in.

Since workers’ compensation aims to help injured employees, some of the benefits awarded to them include medical treatments as well as coverage for lost income. Some of the premiums also cover vocational rehabilitation programs to hasten the recovery of employees, allowing them to come back to work faster.

You can expect that the premiums are based on state rates as well as the experience of the employer when it comes to claims. Nonetheless, the employer must ensure ample coverage that can even span to long-term illnesses and injuries.

Some injuries, however, are outside of the scope of workers’ compensation. For instance, if the injury is self-inflicted, then there is a slim chance that an employee will be able to file a claim. In the same manner, the employee may be ineligible for a claim if the injury happened during the commission of a crime or if the employee violated a company policy.

Of course, a workers’ compensation claim will also be deemed invalid if the employee was not on the job when the accident causing his or her injuries happened. More often than not, the payment for negligence claims, as well as for pain and suffering are outside of the scope of workers’ compensation.

Workers’ Rights Concerning Workers’ Compensation

No Discrimination

Employers should also ensure that they uphold the rights of their employees claiming for workers’ compensation. For instance, the employees should not be discriminated against for filing a workers’ compensation claim.

This means that employers are prohibited from terminating them or retaliating against these employees. Otherwise, cases or lawsuits because of discrimination may be filed by the worker to their employer.

Record Keeping

An employer also should keep records and file reports of the claims. Alongside this, they should also give accurate and proper information to their employees about these records and provide a copy as deemed necessary.

However, different states have specific and varying requirements when it comes to record-keeping and reporting. But in general, employers must display a notice to employees to keep them informed and keep a record of lost time injuries and occupational disease for proper reporting.

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Employers have major obligations when it comes to workers’ compensation. Apart from ensuring that their employees are insured with ample coverage sufficient to ensure that their recovery costs are covered, they also need to uphold their workers’ rights.

In doing so, not only are they providing a healthy working environment to their employees, but they are also ensuring that they keep their top talents who can help them grow their business.


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