There are a lot of employers that offer all types of benefits for their workers. However, there are certain things every employer is required to carry. No matter what the perks are, you expect that your employer should have their “T’s” crossed and his “I’s” dotted.   All taxes, insurance, benefits, etc should already be in place.  But what happens if they do not?  What happens if you are injured at work and your employer is not able to cover anything because they do not have worker’s compensation insurance?

Many do not know this, but North Carolina state law requires employers that have three or more employees carry workers’ compensation insurance on those employees.  Whether the employee is part time, full time, or even seasonal; if there are three or more people working for the employer, then the employer is required to carry the proper insurance coverage.  Failure to keep proper occupation injury insurance coverage can, not only jeopardize the operation of the company (meaning that the company could possibly be shut down in the event that an employee is injured and cannot be compensated for the injury) but carries penalties such as fines that can range from $50 to $100 per day.

Some employers will argue that they do not have to carry workers’ compensation insurance because they don’t have employees but, instead, have independent contractors working for them. There are certain other guidelines for independent contractors. However, if your employer has three or more employees and does not have the proper workers’ compensation insurance then they can be fined and you may still be able to recover from the business or from a fund that has been set up to protect those from uninsured employers.