According to the California Division of Workers’ Compensation, the Uninsured Employers Fund expends approximately $26 million per year to assist the injured employees of uninsured employers. Responsible employers that pay workers’ compensation premiums are assessed an additional fee to finance the Uninsured Employers Benefit Trust Fund; thus, incurring a higher cost of doing business than the uninsured employer.Employers that presently do not possess workers’ compensation insurance or benefits for their employees are urged to immediately comply with the law and obtain workers’ compensation insurance. Anyone with information relating to employers that are presently operating without workers’ compensation insurance or without benefits for injured employees are encouraged to contact the District Attorney’s Office at 289-1961.
District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announces new Uninsured Employer Compliance Program
March 10, 2006
Santa Paula News
District Attorney Gregory D. Totten recently announced that the District Attorney’s Office will implement a new Uninsured Employer Compliance Program on March 20, 2006, to ensure employers in Ventura County have obtained workers’ compensation insurance or have provided benefits for their employees as required by law.
District Attorney Gregory D. Totten recently announced that the District Attorney’s Office will implement a new Uninsured Employer Compliance Program on March 20, 2006, to ensure employers in Ventura County have obtained workers’ compensation insurance or have provided benefits for their employees as required by law.Workers’ compensation insurance fraud results in increased costs to employers and taxpayers and remains a significant threat to the California economy. The majority of workers’ compensation fraud schemes are perpetrated by unscrupulous employees, medical doctors, and chiropractors who engage in schemes to file and report false work-related injury claims. Other violations involve employers who cut costs by failing to obtain proper workers’ compensation coverage for their employees. Employers who engage in such conduct leave their employees unprotected against work-related injuries and gain an unfair competitive advantage in the marketplace.As a part of this new program, district attorney investigators will periodically contact employers to request written proof of workers’ compensation insurance. An employer unable to provide such written proof will receive a citation to appear in the Ventura County Superior Court for misdemeanor charges of failing to obtain workers’ compensation insurance or benefits in violation of Labor Code section 3700.5. Employers that have workers’ compensation coverage, but cannot immediately provide written proof of their insurance coverage, will have 10 days to provide such written proof to the District Attorney’s Office before a criminal misdemeanor complaint will be filed. The maximum punishment for a first violation of Labor Code section 3700.5 is imprisonment in county jail for up to one year or a fine of not less than $10,000 or up to double the amount of premium required.When employers fail to provide workers’ compensation insurance, their injured employees suffer and may not receive proper medical treatment or their treatment is substantially delayed because they are unaware they can seek assistance from the Uninsured Employers Fund. Without appropriate medical care, it often takes longer for injured employees to resume their place in the workforce. Instead of receiving timely financial assistance for lost income and medical services, the injured employee must go through the slow and difficult process of seeking assistance from the Uninsured Employers Fund. Injured workers are also often discouraged from reporting injuries suffered on the job. The delays can create severe financial hardships for the injured employees and their families.
