New rules could impact small businesses, workers’ compensation
- Small businesses might have to change the way they rely on independent contractors, freelancers, and other gig workers on their job sites.
- Previously, using independent contractors allowed employers to avoid paying payroll taxes and other costs of employment like workers’ compensation.
- However, new worker classification rules from the U.S. Department of Labor are likely to come into effect and change the market.
- The proposed rule will take a harder look at the contractor’s role in the business and will rely heavily on the “extent to which the work performed is an integral part of the employer’s business.”
Workers comp could be affected by ‘instance-by-instance’ citation policy
- Federal regulators issued new enforcement guidance to make its penalties more effective in stopping employers from exposing workers to hazards or failing to comply with safety requirements.
- OSHA Regional Administrators and Area Office Directors now have the authority to cite certain types of violations as “instance-by-instance citations.”
- These are cases where the agency identifies “high-gravity” serious violations of OSHA standards specific to certain conditions where the language of the rule supports a citation for each instance of non-compliance.
- These conditions include lockout/tagout, machine guarding, permit-required confined space, respiratory protection, falls, trenching, and for cases with other-than-serious violations specific to recordkeeping.
Therapists need to be up-to-date with workers’ comp
- Dangers surrounding therapists include slipping, tripping, or falling.
- These therapists are constantly moving during a patient session, often bending down to pick up various items or maneuvering around furniture.
- It’s important for therapists to have workers’ compensation protection so they are covered in case of an accident.
- Workers’ comp often covers medical bills for mental health treatments, lost wages due to time off work, and the cost of any necessary equipment to support recovery.
North Carolina woman charged with embezzlement
- Sally E. McClintock, 40, Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, was charged with obtaining property by false pretense and embezzlement by an insurance agent, both felonies.
- McClintock reportedly embezzled $4,130.81 in workers’ compensation premium payments.
- She also forged policyholders’ names on insurance documents to reinstate policies that lapsed because the premium payments were embezzled.
- McClintock allegedly issued a certificate of insurance for a workers’ compensation policy that she knew never existed and provided a letter stating that an insurance policy was lawful.