Do you know when you are required to carry workers’ compensation coverage in California if you have employees? Did you know you could face criminal charges if a worker gets injured and you don’t have it? Paying for workers’ compensation coverage is a cost of doing business in the state.
With the help of a PEO, you can get your business in line with regulations and get many other HR and payroll benefits simultaneously. Here’s how NetPEO can help you with our workers’ compensation services in California.
When is Workers’ Compensation Coverage Required in California?
If you have a single worker under you, even a gig economy worker, you must have workers’ compensation coverage in California. Here are the exceptions for coverage:
- Sole proprietors and partnerships – Not required, but you can get it for yourself.
- Corporations, including LLCs – Not required if the directors and officers fully own the corporation.
California has a special rule for roofing companies. All roofing companies must carry workers’ compensation even if they don’t have employees. Besides the exceptions above, all employers must participate in the workers’ compensation system.
The penalties are severe if you don’t participate, but we can help your employees get workers’ compensation services with the help of one of our California PEOs.
What are the Penalties for Not Having Coverage?
It is a criminal offense to have employees and no coverage. It is a misdemeanor with fines no less than $10,000 or imprisonment for jail up to one year or both, plus additional state penalties of up to $100,000.
If an employee gets injured and you don’t have coverage, you will be responsible for paying all bills related to the illness. Your employee will have the right to sue you in court and can file a workers’ compensation claim.
Finally, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement may order you to stop using employees until you obtain coverage. If you continue to use employees despite the stop order, you could face additional criminal charges, fines, and jail time.
How Does Workers’ Compensation Benefit My Business?
It’s now obvious that you need it to save yourself from criminal charges, but getting coverage also greatly benefits your business. If you or your workers get injured on the job, workers’ compensation gives everyone a way to get compensation for injuries without going through the court.
The injured employee can get compensation for medical care and lost wages while they recover. If they cannot continue the same job because of their injury, they can also get compensation for vocational training to find a new position.
Should a worker pass away while on the clock for you, your workers’ compensation insurance may also pay for death benefits to the surviving family. In short, workers’ compensation coverage gives you peace of mind if someone gets harmed while working for you.
How a PEO Helps You with Workers’ Compensation
Once you hire employees, HR and payroll concerns become a part of your day-to-day operations. Working with a California PEO gives you a team of HR and payroll experts to handle these concerns while you focus on the core parts of your business.
A PEO can help you find the right coverage plan for your employees and take care of any claims that come up. But that’s not the only thing that PEOs do. Once you partner with a PEO, you have an entire team of HR and payroll specialists ready to help you scale your business.
Workers’ compensation isn’t the only employment regulation with teeth. PEOs help small and medium-sized businesses adapt to new regulations as they grow so that legal speed bumps don’t slow down your growth.
Other Ways a PEO Can Help Your Company
NetPEO can pair you with a California PEO to handle just the HR and payroll needs you require or one who can take care of all of it. Businesses across California work with PEOs to handle situations like:
- Tax compliance
- Payroll
- Regulatory compliance
- Onboarding
- Recruitment
- Company policy creation and enforcement
- Risk management
- Benefits administration
- Any other HR or payroll task
NetPEO’s system lets you add or remove services as you need them. If you already have in-house staff doing some of these tasks, you can use your PEO to offload some of the more time-consuming tasks, like California workers’ compensation administration, to free your in-house employee for deeper work.
Where Does NetPEO Come In?
NetPEO is both a PEO and a PEO broker with a nationwide network of PEOs. Our job is to find the PEO that matches the needs of your growing business, whether you’re getting your first employee or you have a team of thousands already.
Our company also performs regular checks to ensure that your PEO relationship is working out well. We submit feedback to your PEO network to raise the level of service in our industry. This is something that sets NetPEO apart from other PEO brokers, and it’s why we have one of the highest satisfaction rates in the industry.
If something happens and you need to switch PEOs, NetPEO can also help you with that. Our team can help with the transition from one PEO to another or from a PEO to your in-house team, so your business operations can continue without HR or payroll worries.
Contact NetPEO for a Free Quote
If you have a business in California, you will need someone with workers’ compensation experience at some point. Why not go with a professional team who can offer workers’ comp services and so much more? NetPEO can help you find the right PEO for your company with one consultation.
To schedule a free consultation and see which California PEOs offer the workers’ compensation services you need, call us at the number on your screen or email us through our contact page. Your consultation is absolutely free and with no obligation.
