Enforcement
Our Investigators conduct routine job-site inspections to ensure employer compliance with the workers' compensation law.
When an employer is operating without the required coverage, civil enforcement action is taken. This most often results in the issuance of a Stop-Work Order, requiring that the business cease all operations until it complies with the law and pays a penalty.
The penalty is equal to 2 times the amount the employer would have paid in manual premium within the preceding 12 or 24-month period.
A Stop-Work Order may also be issued if an employer:
- understates or conceals payroll,
- misrepresents or conceals employee duties, or
- otherwise attempts to avoid paying the proper amount of premium when purchasing a Workers’ Compensation Insurance policy.
To make a penalty payment online, please visit the Online Penalty Payment Service.
These violations and other actions may result in criminal acts as determined by the Criminal Investigations Division.
It is against the law to:
- Work without workers' compensation insurance when required to have such coverage
- Work in violation of a Stop-Work Order
- Make a false statement for the purpose of obtaining insurance coverage or to reduce premiums
- Fail to report an injury to the insurance carrier
- Discharge or threaten to discharge an employee for filing or attempting to file a workers' compensation claim
- Deduct workers' compensation premium from employees’ pay
- Misclassify an employee as an independent contractor