Every small business owner should want to keep his/her employees safe and productive. Indeed, employers are legally obligated to ensure that their workplaces are safe. Yet accidents can happen. When they do, workers’ compensation is a system established to benefit employees who have suffered due to work-related accidents, injuries, or illnesses. Workers’ compensation benefits help employees while out of work as they recover. Workers’ compensation also helps employers cover the costs of workplace injury care.
What to Know About Workers’ Compensation
First, an employer may think that injuries only happen in high-risk industries, but the reality is that employees can be injured in any business. Based on The Hartford’s claims data analysis, there’s a 50% chance that every small business will experience a workers’ compensation claim in the next 10 years. Even if a business has only one employee, a small business can be liable for medical expenses and lost wages if he/she were injured while working.
Second, every state has different workers’ compensation requirements. Most states require employers to cover all full-time and part-time employees. However, Florida and South Carolina only require companies with four or more employees to carry workers’ compensation coverage. State laws also vary on how much coverage is required.
Third, employers pay for workers’ compensation insurance. Employees do not contribute to this cost.
Fourth, in a workers’ compensation case, no one party is determined to be at fault. However, a worker loses the right to any workers’ compensation benefits if the injury results solely from their intoxication from drugs or alcohol, or from the intent to injure themselves or someone else.
Fifth, in most states, only regular employees are eligible for workers’ compensation.
In cases where employees suffer an injury or illness due to their job, there are essential workers’ compensation benefits.
What Businesses Should Know About Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Workers’ compensation benefits include:
- Medical benefits. These cover the cost of reasonable and necessary medical care to treat the injury or illness.
- Income/wage replacement benefits. These help to replace a portion of the employee’s lost wages while they are unable to work. These benefits can be temporary or permanent, paying for long-term disability after workers’ comp settlement.
- Disability benefits. If an injury or illness results in a permanent disability, benefits can be provided to compensate for the loss of earning capacity. These benefits can be temporary or permanent.
- Death benefits. In the case of a work-related death, benefits can be provided to an employee’s dependents.
- Other benefits. Depending on the state and the specific circumstances, vocational rehabilitation services and mileage reimbursement can be offered.
How a Professional Payroll Services Company Can Help with Workers’ Compensation and Workers’ Compensation Benefits
A professional payroll services company can assist with workers’ compensation by handling and streamlining crucial administrative tasks, managing payments, and offering enhanced compliance and risk management. They can handle payroll processing, calculate workers’ comp insurance premiums, and facilitate payments to improve cash flow.
Choose an Expert Payroll Service
Choose Palmetto Payroll, an expert payroll service, to assist you with your payroll system. We have offices in Columbia and Charleston, serving over 300 business owners statewide. We offer tailored solutions to save you time and money so you can thrive and grow, including payroll, tax depositing and filing, management reporting, Human Resource Services, and timekeeping services.
