“Help! My Georgia employer doesn’t have workers’ compensation insurance. What now?”
Most Georgia employers are required by law to have workers’ comp insurance for their employees. This insurance exists to provide benefits for medical care and lost income when an employee is injured at work or develops an occupational illness.
Unfortunately, not all employers follow the law, and there are many employers operating in Georgia without the appropriate coverage.
If you are injured on the job in Georgia and your boss or company states that they don’t have coverage, it doesn’t mean that you are necessarily out of luck. In this article, we’ll explain when an employer is required to have workers’ compensation coverage and what to do if you get injured and they don’t have it.
If you’ve suffered a work-related injury, illness, or disease in Georgia and you need help getting the workers’ comp benefits you’re owed, reach out to the experienced Atlanta work injury lawyers at Gerber & Elkins for a free consultation.
How many employees are required for workers’ comp in GA?
Under Georgia law, most employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance if they have 3 or more employees, whether those workers are full-time, part-time, or seasonal.
This means the Georgia workers’ compensation insurance requirement number of employees is 3. Once an employer hits that threshold, coverage is mandatory for most types of businesses, and failing to carry it can lead to serious penalties.
A few important points to keep in mind:
- All employees are counted together, even if they work different schedules or locations.
- Corporate officers and LLC members may count as employees unless they formally opt out under Georgia law.
- Independent contractors generally do not count, but misclassification is common and can be challenged.
- Some workers are exempt from workers’ comp in Georgia (meaning they don’t qualify) even if their employer has 3 or more employees, including most farmworkers, domestic workers (like nannies), and railroad workers.
If you’ve been injured on the job and you’re unsure whether your employer meets the employee requirement or should be carrying workers’ comp insurance, reach out to a local Georgia workers’ compensation attorney for help.
Report your injury anyway
The first thing you need to do is to report your injury to your employer. Just because they say they don’t have workers’ compensation coverage doesn’t mean that’s true. Your employer might lie and tell you they don’t have workers’ compensation coverage because they are afraid of their premium increasing.
Alternatively, your employer might be legally operating under a different name which does have coverage.
Chain of workers’ compensation coverage
There is another way that you can recover if your employer does indeed fail to have the appropriate workers’ compensation coverage. There may be a statutory employer above your employer in the ladder of employers at the job. In other words, your employer may be a subcontractor of another employer who actually does have workers’ compensation. Under Georgia law, you are able to go up the chain of command to find coverage.
Filing a claim against an uninsured employer
If your employer doesn’t have workers’ compensation, and there’s not another entity to file against, then you can bring a claim against your employer and attempt to recover your damages. In the absence of workers’ compensation insurance, your employer is directly responsible for your medical bills and indemnity benefits as if they were the insurance company.
At times, it may be difficult to recover against them, but it is still worth it to file notice with the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation for a number of reasons.
- Firstly, it preserves your rights in case they are able to financially afford to pay you.
- Secondly, the “exclusive remedy” doctrine still applies and your only avenue to recovery may be through the workers’ compensation system.
- Thirdly, the employer will be subject to the jurisdiction of the criminal fraud unit of the State Board of Workers’ Compensation. It’s actually illegal not to have coverage if you should have.
Contact a skilled Georgia workers’ compensation attorney
Even if your employer doesn’t have workers’ compensation, you may still have a claim. Contact the experienced Athens workers’ compensation lawyers at Gerber & Elkins Workers’ Compensation Attorneys to discuss your case further if you have any questions.
