Off The Record – Workers’ Comp – Employers Insurance

Video Transcript

Hi, everyone, Craig Rosasco here, law firm Turley Redmond & Rosasco. We’re going to talk today about when an employer does not have workers’ compensation insurance and what the ramifications, penalties, and fines are as carved out by Section 26 and 52 of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Law.

So we used to see it a lot more often and employers have wisened up to it because once you go through the rigmarole of not having insurance and employing people, you learn very quickly it’s a lot easier to get insurance than go through the arduous process of defending yourself in a no insurance case.

So here’s how the game works, ladies and gentlemen. And if you’re watching this video, please speak to an attorney quickly because the fines and the penalties and the settlements are large, and I know as an employer you’re not an insurance company with large reserves on benefits. So a portion of every workers’ compensation premium in the state of New York goes to a fund. It’s called the Uninsured Employers Fund. So I pay workers’ compensation insurance to cover my employees.

Granted, my employees are white collar and they don’t suffer many injuries, a portion of my premium goes into this fund, okay? That fund then has a bank of money in it. So when an employee files a claim against their employer and their employer doesn’t have insurance, the Uninsured Employers Fund steps in with the money that they took from everybody’s premium and they act as the insurance company on the case. This entity is based out of New York State and the state oversees it and this is an insurance company that pays awards. Once they pay an award though, they are going to seek reimbursement from the alleged employer who did not have coverage at the time of the accident, okay?

In addition to that, you the employer is going to be facing significant fines for whatever period that you employed people and you did not have coverage. So if you’ve been recently contacted by an investigator at the Workers’ Compensation Board, it’s not a good thing. Speak to counsel quickly. There are not attorneys out there that are just doing these types of cases. So typically what happens is you get an attorney like myself that has no interest in the case. I don’t represent the employee. I don’t represent the employer. And I know the system.

You’re going to need somebody to defend you in this claim. We hope that there’s a valid defense. Maybe they didn’t work for you. You don’t know who they are. They didn’t work that day. If there’s no valid defense, then we’re merely there to mitigate your losses and mitigate your fines. So if you’ve been named as an uninsured employer in the state of New York and someone’s reached out to you, you must reach out to an attorney immediately. I’d be glad to help you with that. I do it for people all the time. But it is difficult, so contact me soon. 516-745-5666. Probably someone calling now. We’ll talk to you soon.