The Florida Division of Workers Compensation will maintain a workshop Nov. 16 on proposed modifications to guidelines that govern when and the way company officers can exempt themselves from employees’ compensation protection.
Current guidelines mandate that solely these companies organized below state regulation necessities will qualify as firms that may subject certificates permitting officers to exempt themselves from comp necessities. The proposed guidelines, proven right here, make quite a lot of revisions, together with deleting a piece that enables regulators to disclaim exemptions from firms that aren’t eligible.
The new rules word that the exemption kind can be returned whether it is incomplete or inaccurate. An applicant has 90 days to appropriate deficiencies. The guidelines additionally would require that company officers requesting exemption should certify that they’ve accomplished on-line compliance tutorials. And an officer should present a drivers’ license or a Florida identification card.
Other proposed modifications handle procedures after penalties have been assessed.
“If the employer was issued a stop-work order, then the employer will have twenty business days after service of the first amended order of penalty assessment to provide business records sufficient for the department to determine the employer’s payroll, and the employer’s penalty will be recalculated” in accordance with Florida statutes.
It’s unclear if the rule modifications are associated to a problem that has been simmering within the employees’ compensation kitchen for the previous few years. Insurance Journal reported in August that some comp insurance coverage carriers have routinely charged premium for corporate officers or subcontractors which have exempted themselves, as allowed by Florida regulation.
The National Council on Compensation Insurance in 2019 posted a reminder that officers of an organization who elect to be exempt from comp insurance coverage “must not be included in premium calculation.” Yet, some carriers have continued to cost until full documentation is offered, sources have mentioned.
The workshop is ready for Nov. 16 at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time. Stakeholders can be a part of by way of the GoToMeeting platform https://meet.goto.com/866262381, or by telephone. The call-in quantity is +1 (571) 317-3116; the entry code is 866-262-381.
On one other rule change that has garnered quite a lot of consideration, concerning doctor dishing out of treatment, the DWC held a workshop Nov. 1. Some 50 insurers had been current, attendees mentioned.
Rules on doctor dishing out have been some extent of competition for years in Florida. With the latest proposal, the DWC is actually beginning over after insurance coverage firms challenged a 2020 bulletin from the state Department of Financial Services.
The DWC officers indicated they’d contemplate the considerations raised on the workshop and will revise the proposal in coming weeks.
Topics
Florida
Workers’ Compensation
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