Are you a new Georgia business owner who’s ready to start building up your workforce? Congratulations on your success! But now that the stakes are higher, the laws to which you must subscribe are going to change a bit—one thing being you’ll have to get workers’ compensation insurance in case one of your employees suffers an injury.
Let’s review some of the basic details about what that entails. As Atlanta’s work injury lawyer, I represent the victims of work accidents whose circumstances are mistreated by insurance companies and employers, but everyone is better off if you follow the guidelines appropriately to begin with.
When will you need to get workers’ compensation insurance?
In the state of Georgia, if you have three or more employees working at your business, you must carry insurance and contribute benefits. If your business is incorporated, you are considered an employee, but you (and up to five officers) can waive their rights to coverage. However, if officers waive those rights, and you have fewer than three employees after that, you are still required to carry workers’ compensation insurance because you are still considered an employer of three or more people.
Georgia is an NCCI state. What does that mean?
The National Council on Compensation Insurance is a collector and provider of information and services pertinent to workers’ compensation. They are considered the foremost data collection bureau that specializes in workers’ compensation. Thus, their data is greatly beneficial. Since they track Georgia, it’s a great resource to turn to for more information, and I highly recommend that you follow their reports, data and brochures.
Where should I go to get workers’ compensation insurance?
The state of Georgia does not issue or sell insurance. In order to attain workers’ compensation insurance, you must contact an insurance broker or sign up for the assigned risk pool.
What if I don’t get workers’ compensation insurance?
If you don’t have workers’ comp insurance and one of your employees gets hurt, he or she is entitled to sue you for the damages. If you have three or more employees, it is imperative that you get workers’ compensation insurance to protect your business.
That should be a good start toward helping you understand a few of the basic rules and regulations behind workers’ compensation insurance. As a workman’s comp lawyer who serves Atlanta, it is my job to make sure I do my best to protect Georgia workers. The best thing you can do to help protect YOUR Georgia employees is to carry workers’ comp insurance in case one of them gets injured while working for you.
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