Month: April 2019

Workers’ compensation exemptions for Minnesota small business owners and family members

Posted on by Patty Busse

Generally speaking, Minnesota law requires employers to provide workers’ compensation coverage for all employees.

But the law does allow employers to exclude certain types of employees from coverage, such as small business owners and their close relatives.

Following are the types of employees that are exempt from mandatory insurance coverage by Minnesota state law :

  • Sole proprietorships and partnerships:
    Someone operating a business as a sole proprietor isn’t required to get workers’ compensation insurance for his or her spouse, parents or children working in the business, regardless of age or wage rate. However, the business owner would have to provide coverage for any other employees. Similarly, members of a partnership — such as a law firm — don’t have to purchase coverage for themselves. If their spouses, parents or children are employed by the partnership, they’re not required to provide coverage for them either.
  • Executive officers of a closely held corporation:
    A closely held corporation is one in which the capital stock is held by no more than 10 people and has had less than 22,880 hours of payroll in the preceding calendar year (January 1 to December 31). Executive officers of closely held corporations can be excluded from coverage if they are elected or appointed in accordance with the company’s charter or bylaws and they own at least 25 percent of the capital stock of the corporation (exclusive of any stock owned by other family members). If executive officers qualify to be excluded from workers’ compensation coverage, their spouses, parents and children are also excluded if they work in the same business. Relatives within the third degree of kinship — such as uncles, nieces, siblings and grandchildren — can also be excluded, but to do so, the employer must file a written election with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.
  • Managers of limited liability corporations:
    A limited liability company (LLC) has some attributes of a corporation and others of a partnership. If an LLC has 10 or fewer members and has less than 22,880 hours of payroll in the preceding calendar year (January 1 to December 31) managers who own at least a 25 percent membership interest aren’t required to purchase workers’ compensation coverage for themselves. If managers qualify to be excluded from workers’ compensation coverage, their spouses, parents and children are also excluded if they work in the same business. As with executive officers, relatives of a manager within the third degree of kinship can also be excluded, but to do so, the employer must file a written election with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.

Even if state law doesn’t require workers’ compensation coverage for certain individuals, a business can choose to cover them by notifying its workers’ compensation insurer in writing.

If you find that you do need workers’ compensation insurance, you can get a quote through our website.

If you’re considering whether you should get workers’ compensation insurance for yourself or someone who isn’t required to have coverage, check out the small business owners blog post on our WorkersCompEssentials website.

This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for your employment practices.

Free return-to-work resource provides ideas for light-duty jobs

Posted on by Patty Busse

One of the best ways you can keep your workers’ compensation costs under control is by bringing injured employees back to work as soon as they are medically able.

Even if the employee can’t return to his or her regular job due to medical restrictions, you can bring the employee back to work in a light-duty, modified-duty or transitional role.

Because work injuries are unexpected, you might have trouble thinking of light-duty jobs for your employee to perform. That’s why SFM created a free listing of ideas — broken down by industry — of potential light-duty jobs.

Here are links to the transitional work ideas by industry:

Transitional jobs listed include:

  • Answering phones
  • Completing equipment inspection logs
  • Data entry
  • Greeting customers
  • Filing
  • Shredding documents

Even if the jobs listed don’t quite fit your organization, they might help you think of other ideas.

Research shows that timely return-to-work helps speed recovery and increase the likelihood that injured workers will ultimately work again. That makes it worth the effort to bring employees back, even if at a reduced capacity.

Read more on how return-to-work helps control workers’ compensation costs in our post, why early return-to-work benefits your employees and bottom line.

This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for your employment practices.

Are employees working overseas covered by work comp?

Posted on by Patty Busse

By Brian Bent, CPCU, ARM

With an increasingly globalized economy, more and more people are traveling overseas for their jobs. But how does overseas travel affect workers’ compensation coverage?

Employees who are working overseas temporarily are generally covered by their employers’ domestic workers’ compensation policies.

The issue is that “temporarily” is not clearly defined in the policy language or by state statute. Because of this, viewpoints differ on what constitutes a temporary work assignment. This is why it’s important to make sure your insurer knows about any foreign business travel your employees are doing.

Additional coverage might still be needed

Even if your employees are covered by your domestic policy, the countries to which they’re traveling might have additional requirements. Depending on where employees are traveling, you may also want to look at additional coverage options such as kidnap and ransom coverage or foreign voluntary workers’ compensation to cover any loss potential that might not be covered fully by your domestic policy.

This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for your employment practices.

Slip-resistant shoes prevent falls in kitchen environments

Posted on by Patty Busse

It’s easy to see why employees who work in kitchen environments are at risk for slip-and-fall injuries. When you combine fast-moving workers with spills from dishwashing and food preparation, serious injuries can result.

Encourage or require your employees to wear slip-resistant shoes to reduce the risk of injuries. A good pair of slip-resistant shoes will significantly reduce the potential to slip on water, oil or soap. And because they are comfortable, available in many styles and generally no more expensive than non-slip-resistant shoes, there’s really no reason not to use them.

A side-benefit of requiring slip-resistant shoes is the potential to reduce the number of floor mats commonly used in kitchens, resulting in reduced costs and reduced risks related to handling the mats.

Slip-resistant shoe basics

  • High-quality slip-resistant shoes look and feel like other shoes, but they’re built to increase traction through special sole materials and tread design.
  • Look for the statement “slip resistant” (or something similar) stamped onto the sole of the shoe, not just on the box.
  • They are designed to be most effective on liquids and grease. It’s generally advised not to wear the shoes in snow, as it can pack into the soles.
  • Find them at shoesforcrews.com or through local vendors.
  • If you can’t completely eliminate water, soap or grease from your employees’ work environment, slip-resistant footwear is an absolute must for injury prevention.

This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for your employment practices.

css.php