If you have a business in Georgia, you need to have workers’ compensation. The law requires any business with three employees to carry workers’ compensation. It doesn’t matter if the workers are full-time, part-time, or seasonal. Your Georgia business must have the right worker’s compensation coverage for employees. This applies to all areas of Georgia, including Albany, GA, Moultrie, GA, Tifton, Valdosta, Sylvester, GA, and all surrounding areas.
If any company trying to avoid workers’ compensation insurance and is caught, the fine can be a mix of $1,000 to $10,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both. And while a business may think they can get away with not having workers’ compensation insurance, if the potential fines and imprisonment weren’t enough of a deterrent, there are other perils. For one, other businesses might not hire you. Many times a company will ask for proof of workers’ compensation before agreeing to any work. This can be for a couple of reasons. First, they want to make sure the company they are hiring is legitimate and honest. Secondly, they don’t want any liability from another company’s shortfall.
Another reason to carry workers’ compensation insurance is that the coverage goes for far more than you think it does. For example, let’s say you have a seasonal online business and hire more workers around Christmas time.
- Two of these workers take orders and don’t do much but sit at desks. However, one worker starts to experience previous injuries getting worse such as carpel tunnel syndrome or back issues. These were aggravated by the work she is doing for you, and your business is responsible.
- Another employee who works out of his home packing shipping boxes. He trips over some boxes and breaks his leg. Even though he is at home, the injuries occurred while completing work duties, and now your business is responsible for all medical bills.
Could coverage for these fall under liability insurance? Probably not because they were injuries workers sustained while carrying out work duties.
The good news is that not only is the Brownlee Agency a source of information regarding worker compensation insurance, but we can also search different quotes to find the right worker’s compensation insurance for you. We work with businesses throughout the Tifton area, including Albany, GA, Moultrie, GA, Valdosta, Sylvester, GA, and all surrounding areas.