Workers’ compensation is one of the first benefits that employers must offer in Illinois to their workers. If you work in construction, trucking, or a hazardous industry, you’re already required to have it even as a sole proprietor.
Do you know if you’re compliant with workers’ compensation regulations? The penalties for non-compliance are high. Protect yourself by hiring an Illinois PEO that offers workers’ compensation services through NetPEO.
Why Is Workers’ Compensation Required for Employers?
Workers’ compensation gives injured workers a way to get compensation for their injuries without suing your business. Instead, employers carry workers’ compensation insurance, and a separate group, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, handles the claims.
If you do not have workers’ compensation insurance and a worker gets injured, you could get sued directly for their injuries. You could even lose your personal assets, depending on the case. One worker injury could wipe out your business.
Plus, since it is required by law for employers in Illinois, you’ll also face state penalties. You could even face felony prosecution. Knowingly failing to provide coverage can put you in prison for 1-3 years and fines of up to $25,000, plus $500 for each day your employee didn’t have insurance, with a minimum fine of $10,000.
How Can I Afford Coverage?
Paying workers’ compensation premiums can be an unwelcome overhead when you bring in new employees. Paying premiums is a cost of doing business, but is there any way to make it cheaper? There may be if you work with a PEO.
PEOs, or professional employment organizations, pool employees from multiple businesses under their name. This lets them approach insurers with a much larger number of people, incentivizing insurers to give discounts on insurance and other benefits.
When you work with NetPEO, we’ll listen to your insurance challenges and find a PEO in Illinois that fits your needs and can bring you workers’ compensation coverage at a rate you can afford. But that’s not the only thing a PEO can do to help your business.
Expert Workers’ Compensation Advice
Getting insurance coverage is just the first step. You need someone with HR experience who can help you through the claims process and with the regulations. Both employees and employers have responsibilities and rights under the system.
Messing up a workers’ compensation claim can land your business in legal hot water, so why risk making a mistake? You have enough on your plate making sure your business stays profitable. Let an Illinois PEO help you with workers’ compensation services.
PEOs can help you with a wide variety of HR and payroll needs for growing businesses. Small and medium-sized businesses hire PEOs to save costs on hiring in-house HR and payroll employees until they get large enough to have their own experts.
How Does Workers’ Compensation Protect My Workers?
When a worker gets injured, they can turn to the system to get paid for their workplace injury and lost wages. There are four main areas of benefits. The first is medical benefits. All necessary medical care for their job injury could get covered.
Next, there are income benefits. Workers’ comp will pay a percentage of your workers’ salary while they recover. If they become temporarily or permanently disabled, there are coverage amounts for those conditions as well.
Finally, there are vocational rehabilitation benefits. A worker may not be able to return to their old job but still can work. Vocational rehabilitation pays for retraining workers for new positions so they can stay in the workforce.
What Happens if an Employee Dies on the Job?
If a worker dies on the job, you need to have an HR expert on hand to guide you. Your workers’ compensation coverage may have death and burial benefits, but you could also be at risk for a wrongful death lawsuit.
While our HR experts are not lawyers, they can help you cover the basics of what to do if a worker dies on the job, discuss how the workers’ compensation commission will handle the situation, and inform you when you need to turn to legal counsel.
There are many industries that carry a risk of death, like transportation and construction. NetPEO knows these risks and has experience helping companies in many dangerous industries get the protections they need just in case this happens.
How Else Can My PEO Help Me?
You can hire an Illinois PEO from NetPEO for just workers’ compensation services, but a range of services is available. You can get help with things like:
- Regulatory compliance
- Benefits administration
- Payroll assistance
- Recruitment assistance
- Onboarding
- Company policy creation
- Risk management
- Any other HR or payroll tasks
When you work with NetPEO, we will discuss your current and future needs and find the perfect PEO to help you grow your business. When you have a solid HR team you can rely on, you can scale without worrying about regulatory trip-ups, plus offer solid benefits packages to attract outstanding talent.
Partner with an Illinois PEO for Workers’ Compensation Services
Get peace of mind about whether you’re handling your workers’ compensation responsibilities correctly. Call NetPEO to get a free evaluation of your company’s needs. We can broker a co-employment relationship between you and an Illinois PEO.
When you work with NetPEO, we do more than connect you to a PEO. We also evaluate your relationship to ensure it still serves your company well. If you have a problem with your PEO, we will help you find another one and assist you with the transfer.
After decades in the PEO business, NetPEO has one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the industry. Find out how a PEO can help your company reach new heights with one consultation. Call or email us to schedule your free appointment.
