If one of your employees came to you right now and said they were injured on the job, would you know what to do? They have a right to workers’ compensation, which means employers need to have workers’ compensation coverage and know their rights and responsibilities in the program.
You may not know how to do this, and that’s where a Florida PEO insurance service provider can help you. NetPEO can connect you to a Florida PEO that offers workers’ compensation services. Getting covered can mean the difference between a successful business and one destroyed by a lawsuit.
How does a Florida PEO Help My Business?
Partnering with a Florida PEO company can do so much more than give you access to workers’ compensation services. Professional employee organizations give small and medium businesses access to HR and payroll experts who can tackle any administration challenge.
PEOs can give you and your employees access to benefits that would be too expensive to get on your own. They can do this because PEOs pool the employees from all their clients before going to benefit providers and insurers. A larger labor pool means cheaper rates for you and better benefits for all.
Some of the many things that PEOs do for businesses include:
- Recruiting and onboarding
- Training and policy creation
- Workers’ compensation
- Benefits administration
- Payroll and taxes
- Risk management
- Regulatory compliance
- And more
When you call NetPEO, we will discuss your business’ HR and payroll challenges and your growth plans for the future. Then we will go through our network of Florida PEOs and find the right one that fits your needs and knows your industry best.
Will I Lose Power Over My Employees?
Co-employment may make it sound like you’ll lose power over your business, but this is not so. The co-employment contract allows your PEO to become the employer of record of your employees to pool their employees with yours. Beyond that, everything else is negotiable.
You retain all power to hire and fire employees and what their responsibilities are. PEOs also do not get involved with selling or promoting your products or services. Instead, they strictly help you with the administrative tasks your business needs, even if it’s just a single task like running your workers’ compensation program.
Your PEO will advise you if you need to change your business or your policies to meet regulations. For example, once you get enough employees, you’ll need to comply with federal laws like FMLA.
How NetPEO Helps You with Your PEO
NetPEO does more than find the best Florida PEOs from our network to help you with your business. We also check in with our clients to make sure they’re happy with their PEO and if they are facing any challenges in the relationship.
PEOs in our network must remain in good standing with our clients to stay with us. If you are unhappy with your PEO or have outgrown what your current PEO can handle, NetPEO can help you transition to another PEO smoothly.
Workers’ Compensation Requirements in Florida
Florida has looser requirements for when you have to get workers’ compensation than other states, but this can create confusion about when you are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Here’s a breakdown of the basic rules.
First, look at the number of employees you have, including corporate officers and LLC members. If you have four or more, regardless of industry, you’re required to have coverage. However, corporate officers and LLC members may choose to exempt themselves.
You must have coverage if you work in the construction industry and have at least one employee. Agriculture businesses have the most leeway. In this case, you do not need workers’ compensation until you have at least six employees.
If you are a sole proprietor or a partnership with no employees, you are not required to have coverage. However, with any business type or number of employees, you can choose to include yourself and your workers on a policy so you can get covered for job-related injuries.
Penalties for Failure to Insure in Florida
There are four penalties you can face in the State of Florida if you do not have workers’ compensation coverage when it is required. You can be caught if a worker comes to you with a claim and you don’t have it or if you get randomly inspected by the state.
Fines
First, you’ll face fines of what you would have paid in premiums over the past two years per employee. Depending on your employee count, this could be a massive amount. You could face additional fines if you mistakenly classified your employees as independent contractors.
Criminal Prosecution
Many workers’ compensation violations also carry criminal charges. Some of these are felonies, especially if you have many employees or willfully ignore the requirements to carry workers’ compensation coverage.
Stop Work Order
The state can order you to shut down your business until you pay your penalties and get coverage. Violating the stop work order will create additional criminal charges.
You can bet that the state will also review your business carefully for any other violations before lifting the order, like payroll problems.
Civil Lawsuits
Finally, if you had an injured employee, they may sue you and your company for their injuries. Unlike workers’ compensation, the amount they could get from you is not limited. Your personal assets could get seized to pay for their care.
If you’re reading this and you do not have workers’ compensation coverage yet, you should contact us right now and begin the coverage process. Don’t waste time figuring out the regulations or the insurance market on your own. NetPEO can help.
Get Covered With NetPEO’s Workers’ Compensation Services
If you have a Florida business and employees, you must get workers’ compensation coverage as soon as possible. You do not want to face fines, lawsuits, and charges for failing to have coverage. Our Florida PEOs can keep you in line with the regulations.
To get started, call us at the number on your screen or email us through our contact page. We will discuss your needs and give you a free quote for a selection of PEOs in your area that can help you with your workers’ compensation needs. Call today to protect yourself and your workers.
