Workers’ Compensation Requirements for Employer
Requirements for Employers
The Alaska Workers’ Compensation Act requires each employer having one or more employees in Alaska to get workers’ compensation insurance, unless the employer has been approved as a self insurer. Determining employee status is accomplished utilizing the relative-nature-of-the-work-test as set out in Alaska Regulation 8 AAC 45.890.
There are few exceptions to those who must be covered under a workers’ compensation policy. Generally speaking, those include: sole proprietors in a sole proprietorship; general partners in a partnership; executive officers in a nonprofit corporation, members in a member managed limited liability company, part-time baby-sitters, cleaning persons (non-commercial), harvest help and similar part-time/transient help, sports officials for amateur events, contract entertainers, commercial fishers, taxicab drivers whose compensation is by contractual arrangement, a participant in the Alaska temporary assistance program, and professional hockey team players and coaches if those persons are covered under a health care insurance plan. In addition, executive officers in a for-profit corporation may exempt themselves by filing an Executive Officer Waiver with the department.
Businesses get Insurance coverage from commercial insurance carriers. Employers should contact their insurance agent or broker to buy a workers’ compensation policy. Businesses unable to get coverage from an insurance company, may buy insurance through Alaska’s Assigned Risk Pool. The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) administers Alaska Pools. Alaska does not have workers’ compensation group pools. Once an employer has coverage, they must give proof of workers’ comp insurance to the Division of Workers’ Compensation on form 07-6119 (usually submitted by the insurance company). There are huge civil and criminal penalties that apply to an employer who fails to keep up coverage and/or fail to pay compensation.
The the employer’s payroll, type of business risk (classification assignment), and the employer’s loss history determine the cost for coverage. If an employer believes that their premium is too high, or that their business is improperly classified, they can request arbitration from the NCCI, and the Alaska Review and Advisory Committee.
Alaska Online Workman Compensation Coverage Checker
So, who wants to know if a given employer has worker’s compensation coverage. Employees want to know, because if they are hurt they would like insurance to pay for the hospital bills. Property owners hiring contractors want to know because they are liable for injured workers if the contractor fails to insure his workers. General contractors want to know because they hire subcontractors and need to know they are hiring insured workers. Business owners want to know if their leased employees are actually covered by the employee leasing company. Business owners also want to know that their competitors carry insurance — because they want to make sure the competition is paying their fair share of injured worker claims. Alaska provides the following checker here:
Alaska Employer Workman Compensation Coverage Verification
This link takes you off site. When clicking on the coverage verification link above, you will be leaving our site and going to an external web site not maintained by us or the Alaska Department of Labor. This is the same site the Alaska Department of Labor would presently uses for verification. The list does not include self insured businesses nor those employers for which coverage is provided on a statutory basis. The site requires cookies and javascript to be enabled in order for it to function correctly.
If you are an employer and have been served with a Failure to Insure for Workers’ Compenstion Liablity, a discovery demand and give us a call at 907-375-9226.