Every employer not in agriculture, farm or ranch operations is required to obtain and maintain workers’ compensation coverage for all employees. Those employers who voluntarily and willfully fail to obtain and maintain coverage violate the law and subject themselves to significant risks.
If you are an employee who is injured in the course of your employment and you learn that your employer has not maintained workers’ compensation coverage for you, you can either file a claim against the employer in civil court or file a claim in the Workers’ Compensation Court.
Employers who try to avoid their legal obligations and avoid providing workers’ compensation coverage expose themselves to monetary judgments in civil court, stop-work orders from the Attorney General’s office, injunctions from continuing to operate their business, assessments against their property, daily penalties of up to $1,000 a day from the time they failed to obtain coverage through the day they do obtain coverage and or they simply expose themselves their personal assets and other business assets as well. In today’s economy, this is becoming more of a daily occurrence.
If you find yourself or someone you know facing an injury sustained while working for an employer who did not have or obtain workers’ compensation coverage, there are remedies. Consult an experienced attorney to learn your rights. You do have options.