Delaware Workers Compensation

Delaware Workers Compensation Insurance

1. Who needs Delaware Workman’s Compensation Insurance coverage?

Delaware Workers' Compensation coverage is compulsory for employers in Delaware. Employers with one or more employees are required to carry workers' compensation insurance. Employers may not charge an employee any portion of the premium or expense of carrying workers' compensation insurance.

Delaware Workman's Compensation benefits have certain entitlement requirements which must be met in order to receive benefits. The requirements are established by law in Title 19, Delaware code and are administered by the Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Industrial Affairs, and office of Workers ‘Compensation.

2. Do you have any special laws for the construction industry?

Since 2001, the Department of Labor has secured $7.8 billion for the retirement, health and benefit plans that cover 150 million Americans. The Department of Labor has reformed the financial reporting requirements for unions so that rank and file union members will have access to more accurate and complete information about how their dues money is spent. These reforms will help union members police their own unions and prevent problems before they start. Fulfilling its role in the Energy Employee Occupational Illness Compensation program, the Department has awarded more than $118,000 to Delawareans who developed cancer and other covered diseases while working on nuclear weapons and related projects for the United States. Payments have gone to former employees at the Department of Energy, its contractors or subcontractors, or to their survivors.

3. What do you consider a Sub-Contractor or Independent Contractor vs an employee?

It is always a difficult problem to determine who is an employee or contractor and preventing those hired as contractors from being employees, or vice versa. Some of the major factors to be considered are as follows:

1. The extent to which the worker has unreimbursed visit expenses. Independent contractors are more likely to have unreimbursed expenses than employees. Employers should not routinely approve reimbursement requests for business-related expenses, because this could be used as evidence of employee status.

2. The extent of the workers' investment. An independent contractor often has a significant investment in the facilities he or she uses in performing services for someone else. One of the most significant investments is office or work space. employers should not provide tools, equipment, or supplies to individuals who are hired as independent contractors.

3. The extent to which the worker makes services available to the relevant market. If the worker does the same work for other companies, it's a key indicator of independent contractor status.

4. An employee is generally paid by the hour, week, or month. Independent contractors are usually paid by the job.

5. An independent contractor usually makes a profit or loss on the job. Employees receive paychecks whether the company they work for makes money or not.

6. Does the employer provide employee-type benefits such as insurance, pension plans, vacations, or sick days? Independent contractors do not usually provide this type of benefit.

7. Workers who are hired on a permanent basis are usually considered employees. If a worker is hired with the expectation that the relationship will continue indefinitely, this shows generally an employer/employee relationship.

5. Can a sole proprietor or individual exempt themselves from Delaware Workers’ Compensation Insurance?

Sole proprietor or partner may elect coverage.

What is employee leasing or PEO?

A PEO is a Professional Employer Organization, also referred to as an employee leasing company. The PEO concept is simple - by allowing the PEO to establish a co-employment relationship with your workers, employer responsibilities can be shared between you and the PEO. You focus on growing your business and most importantly, increasing revenue. The PEO, on the other hand, takes care of the non-revenue producing areas of your business, including:

Payroll administration Working with a PEO allows employers to more easily administer a number of payroll functions, including processing via the Internet, phone and fax. PEOs also facilitate the filing of state and federal government taxes and accounting.

Risk Management. Perhaps the most valuable yet underutilized asset in the client business is the risk management coverage provided by PEOs in the areas of workers’ compensation and unemployment. Without such coverage, many companies are at risk for heavily reduced profits and even bankruptcy. By working with a PEO, however, companies are able to share the costs and liabilities incurred against the employer.

USL&H and Jones Act

Both State Workers' Compensation and the Longshore Harbor Worker's Compensation Act are nontort and are not subject to the laws of negligence. The employer is simply responsible for accidents that occur during normal operations.

USL&H is a federal act(sometimes referred to as the Longshore Harbor Workers' Compensation Act - LHWCA) designed to provide compensation to an employee if an injury or death occurs upon navigable waters of the US - including any adjoining pier, wharf, dry dock, terminal, building-way, marine railway or other adjoining area customarily used by an employer in loading, unloading, repairing, dismantling or building a vessel.

This law was originally enacted to protect workers engaged in stevedoring and ship building operations, but, through suits and case law, has been expanded to encompass nearly any employee or company whose work takes them on "navigable waters" - marine contractors, diving contractors, service companies supplying equipment "on the water" and ship repair operations.

This law has extreme ramifications for companies who have "incidental USL&H" exposure - marine, dock and seawall contractors whose work is on canals and waters leading into "navigable water" - such as the Intracoastal waterway - and on to the Atlantic.

Unlike State Workers' compensation, which is regulated, Longshore claims fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Labor. Longshore claims can have a higher benefits schedule, more severe penalties and legal ramifications for noncompliance.

State Act Workers' Compensation plans DO NOT cover these type employees whether State comp plans have been excluded from your operation or not.

If you use a leasing company or PEO for State compensation purposes in your operations, you should check with us to make sure you're covered.

Click here for the complete USL&H Act , courtesy of Cornell University.
Click here for: USL&H Web Site - Dept of labor

The Jones Act is a federal act, which provides employee benefits - similar to Workers' Compensation - to masters and members of a US-flagged vessel. (A "flagged vessel" can be a pontoon boat taking a crew to a job site, a small 17' center console used to push a barge for seawall construction or an ocean liner). State Act Workers' Compensation plans DO NOT cover vessel crew and employees can bring action against their employer for negligence.

Read the complete text of the Jones Act here.

If there may be USL&H or Jones Act exposures on your job, you or your insurance agent should contact us to find out how these exposures can impact your business, insurance coverage and profitability.