Contract employee and workers comp

hrqa

We are a not-for profit agency in Tennessee working with people with disabilities in the community. The vast majority of our employees are directly employed and paid salaries by our agency. We have a small number of employees who work on a contract basis and are paid by our agency but are not considered employees eligible for any benefits. We do not pay social security taxes for them and no taxes are withheld from their paychecks. They do not receive W2 forms but 1099 forms. We do provide training for them. One of the contact employees substained a small injury while working. I was told by the office manager she was not eligible for Workers' Compensation since this is a benefit but the Executive Director thinks we may need to be responsible. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience with this issue?

SMace

I do not consider WC a benefit. I consider it a statutory requirement. You don't say, hey you should work here instead of there because we have a great benefit- we have WC. That aside, I would contact your WC carrier and submit the claim to them. They will be the expert on your state law.

Balloonman

If they are not covered by WC then they could sue you for sustaining the injury because you created or allowed an unsafe condition to exsist. See where I am going. If they work for you, they are covered by WC. Like SMace said, turn it in and let your carrier decide.
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman

dbutton111

But it is a benefit. It's a required benefit, but it's still a benefit. When we write federal contracts it's included in the benefit pool.

SMace

I'm sure federal contracts are littered with common sense, so if the govt. says it's a benefit it surely has to be. I've never considered a statutory requirement a benefit. Do you consider their right to sue you under Title VII a benefit? We'll agree to disagree.

dbutton111

If they are not an employee they are not eligible for wc. Contractors are required to provide their own insurance. That is one of the tests you do to determine if someone is an employee or a contractor - do they carry their own insurance (liability/comp/etc), get paid by the job with minimal direction, etc. If you file this under wc, then this person may begin to believe they are an employee and you've opened up a whole new can of worms.

Did the injury happen at your facility? There may be some liability then, just as if it was a guest or client.

SMace

I would not think letting a claims expert in state WC law making a determination if they are covered would suddenly classify them as an employee. But, it's not bad advice if you want to be ultra, super cautious. They would still have the opportunity to file a claim on your general liability.

Betty I_O

We also employ fee for service and contract employees (LICSW, LMHC, PhD, MD)in a not-for-profit community-based mental health organization. Although not eligible for welfare benefits, such as the medical and dental plans, etc., they are covered by Worker's Compensation as long as they are performing work for us. (We sought a ruling from our State WC
office on this one!)