Employer Responsibilities For Workers’ Compensation

The workers’ compensation injury lawyers at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo have over thirty years of experience helpings thousands of people with their workers’ compensation claims, work injury, and personal injury cases. Our team of hard-working attorneys prides itself on making the workers’ compensation process as simple, efficient, and successful for our clients as possible. We have prepared the information below to help you learn about what responsibilities employers have when it comes to workers’ compensation. Contact our firm at (714) 783-2205 and we will answer your questions and discuss your options. We would be happy to set up a free initial consultation and case evaluation. Feel free to also use this website as a tool to learn from as we have compiled many articles, resources, videos, and educational pieces to help injured people learn about their rights and how the system works.

What Are the Responsibilities of My Employer Under Workers’ Compensation Laws?

Before an injury or illness occurs to any employee, your employer’s responsibilities include:

• Obtain and keep workers’ compensation insurance or qualify to become self-insured;
• The employer must provide to all new hires a workers’ compensation pamphlet that explains their rights and responsibilities; and
• Post the workers’ compensation poster in a place where all employees can see it and point it out to employees.

After a job injury or work illness occurs, things need to happen quickly. Your employer’s responsibilities include:

• Provide the injured worker with a workers’ compensation claim form within twenty-four hours after the work-related injury or illness is reported;
• Return a completed copy of the claim form to you within twenty-four hours of receipt of it;
• Forward the filled out a claim form, along with the employer’s report of the occupational injury or illness, to the claims administrator within twenty-four hours of receipt;
• Within one day of receiving your written claim, the employer needs to authorize up to $10,000 inappropriate medical treatment;
• Provide the employee with transitional work (light duty) whenever appropriate; and
• If the employee was a victim of a crime that happened at the worksite, the employer must give notice of workers’ compensation eligibility.

Can My Employer Take Any Part of My Check to Pay For Workers’ Comp?

No, they cannot take any part of your check to pay for the cost of workers’ compensation. In California, workers’ compensation insurance is part of the cost of doing business. An employer cannot ask you to help pay for the insurance premium. They also are not allowed to fire or penalize you for filing a work comp claim.

Isn’t There Supposed to Be a Large Notice Posted At My Job Site? ?

Yes, there should be. Your employer is required to post an up-to-date Notice to Employees poster in an obvious place at the work site. In many instances, this place could be in the break room or employee lunchroom. This poster provides you with information on workers’ compensation coverage and where to get medical care for work injuries. Failure to post the most up-to-date version of this notice is a misdemeanor for your employer that can result in a civil penalty and a large fine per violation.

What Happens in the Event That My Employer is Uninsured and I’m Hurt While Working?

This should not be the case. But if it is, failing to have workers’ compensation coverage is a criminal offense. Section 3700.5 of the California Labor Code makes it a misdemeanor punishable by either a very large fine or imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, or both. The state also issues penalties of up to $100,000 against illegally uninsured employers.

If you get hurt or sick because of work and your employer is not insured, your employer will still be responsible to pay for all of the bills related to your injury or illness, both now and into the future. Contact the information & assistance officer at your local DWC office for further information. Workers’ compensation benefits are only the exclusive remedy for injuries suffered on the job when your employer is properly insured. If your employer is illegally uninsured and you get sick or hurt because of work, you can file a civil action against your employer in addition to filing a workers’ compensation claim. You also have the ability to file a claim for benefits with the state’s Uninsured Employers’ Benefit Trust Fund (UEF).

I have heard of the Uninsured Employers’ Benefit Trust Fund? What is it?

The UEF (Uninsured Employer’s Benefit Trust Fund) is a unique unit within the DWC that may pay benefits to injured employees in California who get hurt or ill while working for an illegally uninsured employer. The UEF pursues reimbursement of expenditures from the responsible employer through all available avenues. This includes filing liens against their property, vehicles and equipment.

Who Do I Report to Regarding An Employer For Not Carrying Workers’ Compensation Insurance?

Contact the nearest office of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement to report an employer who is not carrying the full workers’ compensation that they are required by law to. The offices are also listed in the state government section of the white pages of your local telephone directory under industrial relations, labor standards enforcement.

Contact DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo Today For a Free Consultation

We want to meet you and help you and your family in any way we can. All of our initial case consultations and case evaluations are free. You will meet an Orange County workers’ compensation attorney who will listen to you and discuss your options. Unless and until we do our job and win your case, you will not be charged anything for our time and assistance. We are ready and available to meet you at our office, your home, or hospital room Monday – Friday during the hours of 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. If you prefer to meet earlier in the morning, in the evenings or on the weekend for any reason, we are also available during those times, too, by appointment. We are well known throughout California, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Jose, Central California, San Luis Obispo, Fresno, and the San Francisco Oakland Bay Area as hard-working and ethical workers’ compensation attorneys. We hope this page, and the many others available throughout our website, have helped you become more informed on the workers’ compensation system.