Whether you’re employed by a big company based in Denver, or you work up in the Rocky Mountains, chances are you’ll spend most of your life at work. This opens you up to the risk of injury and illness caused by your job. In Colorado, employers that have one or more employees must have worker’s comp insurance.
This covers work-related illness and injury, regardless of where the fault lies. In exchange for this compensation, an employee gives up the right to file a lawsuit against their employer. Before hiring a Colorado worker’s compensation lawyer, you should first understand everything about workers’ compensation in Colorado. In this article, we’ll discuss five things all workers should know about Colorado worker’s compensation.
1. Every Worker Requires Colorado Workers Compensation
All employees require workers’ comp insurance of any private or public business. If you carry out any work for a business, you are generally regarded as an employee.
There are several exceptions to this rule. A sole proprietor, corporate office, or member of a limited liability company (LLC) may not be required to have this insurance in certain situations.
2. You Don’t Need Colorado Worker’s Compensation If You’re Self Employed
If you’re self-employed, you don’t necessarily need to have State of Colorado worker’s compensation. That said, it might be in your best interests to get worker’s comp insurance.
You do have the option to elect for self-coverage if you are a sole proprietor. This could cover you for lost wages and other vital benefits if a work-related injury or accident happens.
3. Colorado Worker’s Compensation Is Required for Part-Time Workers
You may assume that your employer won’t have to cover you with worker’s comp insurance because you’re a part-time employee.
You’d be wrong. All employees must be covered by workers’ compensation insurance, regardless of how many hours they work each week.
4. Independent Contractors Are Not Required to Have Worker’s Comp Insurance
If your company hires independent contractors to carry out jobs for you, you must not provide worker’s comp insurance for them.
If they wish to have worker’s compensation insurance, they can take this out for themselves, and they can do it as a sole proprietor or self-employed person.
5. There Are Penalties for Not Having Worker’s Comp in Place
The penalties for not having worker’s comp insurance in place in Colorado could be considerable. If you lack the proper cover for your business, a cease and desist order may be issued against your business. You will then need to stop all activities until you take out the right insurance.
If you don’t have the Colorado division of workers’ compensation insurance in place, it could land you with fines. These could be up to $250 per day that there was no cover in place.
If you have more than one violation, this could rise to $500 each day.
Get Your Employees Insured
All companies with one or more employees need to have colorado workers’ compensation insurance, regardless of the number of hours worked by the employee. If you don’t have insurance in place, you should get it set up as soon as possible or face substantial fines. For more informative articles, check out the rest of the site.
