Compliance again

Another California Newspaper is writing about Uninsured Employers and the fines and sanctions they face.

The Ventura County Star, in this Workers Compensation article is mentioning that the local District Attorney is sending investigators out to businesses. The DA’s staff simply shows up at any business and asks to see written proof of their Workers Compensation coverage.

If you have coverage, but don’t have immediate proof of it, they give you ten days to get the proof.

If the business lacks coverage, the owners face fines starting at $10,000. They also face Criminal Misdemeanor charges. This is detailed in Labor code section 3700.5

The article doesn’t mention that in addition to the fines, the business would likely be shut down until they can provide proof to the appropriate agencies and authorities that they have indeed obtained coverage.

How much lost business could that mean? How many days with doors closed?

Businesses should obviously have coverage to comply with known laws. And District Attorneys in various jurisdictions are beginning to enforce the laws that have been on their books for many years.

They’ve also been hearing from businesses which are covered, about the competitive disadvantage they face as they compete against un-insured businesses.

Some industries habitually claim that their staffpersons are all independent contractors, such as: Real Estate and Lending salespersons. Enough on that for now, just make certain that you have coverage, have proof of it, or that you get it, ASAP. It would be a good idea to do so before the premiums go up on January 1, 2009.

Cheers to the insured, Jeers to the uninsured.