Types of Extended Leave to Take From the Job

When you are injured on the job, or suddenly become ill, you may become worried about missing work. If you only work part-time or have to take off for an extended time, it is understandable to have such concerns. You may think that if you do not work, you will not get paid, or that if you are out for too long you may lose your job. However, you may qualify for either workers' compensation or various forms of disability. There are a number of factors that allow you to do so, and some of those factors are covered below.

Workers' Compensation

If sidelined by an injury or an illness that happened on the job, you may qualify for workers' compensation. This is payment for any time missed at work due to being hurt or sick. To receive payment, you must be an employee, and your injury or sickness must be work-related. In addition, some states may require the company to have insurance for workers compensation. However, the laws vary from state to state.

How Can a Purchasing Group Work for You?

Back in the 1960's and later in the 1980's, the products liability and medical malpractice crisis caused the federal government to diverge from its historical practice of leaving the regulation of insurance to the states. Based on a medical liability market where doctors and other health care providers could not obtain insurance covering their negligent acts, the Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986 was passed. 15 USCA 3901 (1986).

Tucked away in the law is the enabling legislation for an insurance mechanism known as a Purchasing Group ('PG"). The PG law authorizes otherwise unaffiliated commercial enterprises to assemble into a common enterprise or group when buying liability insurance. The law includes prohibitions against the states discriminating against these groups by any state regulation that attempts to prevent their existence or interferes with the federal law's intent in allowing insurance buying groups certain product advantages for their members.

Save Money on Workers' Compensation Insurance by Implementing Return to Work Program

Workers' Compensation can be expensive, but it is mandated by the government that businesses carry it. The cost of Workers' Compensation is determined by a company's Experience Modification. The Ex Mod takes into account previous loss history, so the more losses and the bigger the losses the more you pay. Obviously the way to keep the lowest premium is to have zero losses, but if a loss does occur there are certain things that a business owner can do to limit the loss and in turn save money down the road. One program that a business can implement, to keep their Ex Mod lower, is a Return to Work program.

Return to Work (RTW) is also referred to as Modified Duty or Transitional Work. Return to Work is a process that an employer can set up to bring injured employees back to work quickly and safely. When an employee is injured badly enough that they cannot perform their regular duties an employer can bring them back to work doing a different task that is not as physical, as long as the physician Okays it. For example, if a roofer hurts his knee and cannot resume his normal job activities he may be able to help file in the office or just be an assistant to the manager. The positions that are created do not have to be full-time; they just need to be enough to keep the employee busy and still earning some money.

How Does The Ownership Of Your Business Affect Your Workers' Compensation Insurance Premium?

When you decided to go into business and considered all of the options and benefits associated with the different types of ownership, it probably never crossed your mind that your choice may in fact affect the amount in premium that you pay for Workers' Compensation Insurance coverage. Not only does your type of operation and number of employees affect your premium, business ownership also has a financial impact.

Whether or not you as the business owner will be included, excluded, or not eligible for coverage will depend primarily on the type of legal structure that you are currently operating under. Here is a quick overview of whether your earnings as an owner may be included for premium purposes based on some common entity types:

Individual: Individually owned 100% by proprietor. Not eligible/excluded from coverage under the Ca Workers' Compensation Insurance system, therefore earnings will not be included for premium purposes. May elect however to be included for coverage.

Partnership: Each general partner is assumed to own equal shares. General Partners can choose to be excluded from coverage under the CA Workers' Compensation Insurance System. The earnings of all General Partners who choose to be included for coverage will be picked up at the Partner minimum, not to exceed the Partner maximum, as set annually by the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB). The minimum/maximums for 2012 are $ 40,300.00 and $ 104,000.00 respectfully. Partners that are non-working and not paid are not eligible for coverage.