Workers’ compensation insurance is required throughout the entire country; however, workers’ comp laws are different in every state.
At its base level, workers’ compensation laws require most employers to pay a certain type of insurance that covers medical expenses in the case where a worker is injured on the job. With workers’ comp protection in place, workers who are injured or become ill while performing their job duty won’t have to worry about the out-of-pocket expenses of medical treatment. Workers’ comp can also help cover time lost due to work-related injuries or illness, and, in the worst-case scenario, can provide death benefits to the survivors of a worker killed while performing their job.
These essential protections ensure workers don’t pay the price for unsafe job sites or a lack of safety training on the job site, which is why just about every state has some sort of workers’ compensation insurance requirement for employers.
There are some common exceptions, however. “Casual workers” are a group that worker’s compensation laws generally don’t cover in all states. These employees typically don’t have set hours or a specific amount of hours they have to work. Some states also don’t require coverage for those who work for their family - primarily if the employee is related to a farm owner and works less than 40 hours per week (although these laws can vary greatly depending on the state).
On the other hand, some states have no exceptions. In Ohio, for example, workers’ compensation laws apply to all employees, regardless if they are hired or work illegally.
Because workers’ comp rules can vary greatly from state to state, we’ve compiled a list of each to help you understand your role as an employer.
State-by-State Guide to Workers’ Comp Requirements
Use the table below to find your state and get a brief breakdown of workers’ comp requirements and exemptions in every state.
State
Workers’ Compensation Statute
State Workers’ Comp Department
Requires Workers Comp
Exemptions and Special Rules
Alabama
Alabama Code §25-5-1 et seq.
Applies to all employers with at least five employees.
Does not cover domestic employees working in private homes, farm workers, casual employees who don’t have guaranteed work hours, and municipalities with less than 2,000 residents.
Alaska
AS §23.30.005, et. seq.
Department of Labor & Workforce Development
Applies to employers with one or more employees.
Doesn’t cover contract entertainers, commercial fishermen, domestic servants, harvest/transient workers, or taxi cab drivers.
Arizona
Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated §§23-901, et seq.
Industrial Commission of Arizona
Required for companies with more than one full or part-time employee.
Doesn’t cover casual employees or independent contractors.
Arkansas
Arkansas Code Annotated § 11-9-101 et seq.
Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission
Most employers with 3 or more employees are required to carry insurance.
Doesn’t cover casual employees, farm laborers, inmates, or state employees. Sole proprietors, partners, corporate officers, and LLC members are included but can be exempt.
California
California Labor Code Division 3, section 2700 through Division 4.7, section 6208
Department of Industrial Relations
All employers must purchase worker’s comp regardless of the number of employees.
Doesn’t cover amateur sporting event officials; deputy clerks; deputy sheriffs; domestic workers employed by parents, spouse, or child; volunteers for non-profit recreational camps or ski patrols.
Not providing workers’ compensation payments can result in a year in jail and failure to insure can cost a business $100,000 in fines.
Colorado
Colorado Revised Statutes §8-40-101, et seq.
Department of Labor and Employment
All employers are required to buy coverage with a few exceptions (see statute).
Doesn’t cover drivers under lease agreements with common or contract carriers, inmates, or volunteers
Connecticut
Connecticut General Statutes Sections 31-275 through 31-355a, et seq.
Workers’ Compensation Commission
All businesses who employ workers must carry coverage.
Doesn’t cover casual employees, employees working in a private home for less than 26 hours a week, and corporate officers who choose not to have coverage
Delaware
Delaware Code Annotated Title 19, §§2301-2397
All employers in the state are required to carry insurance with few exceptions (see statute).
Some exceptions include agricultural workers and household workers who earn $750 or less in any three-month period.
District of Columbia
District of Columbia Code Annotated §32-1501, et seq.
Department of Employment Services
All businesses must carry insurance or be self-insured.
This excludes independent contractors and unpaid volunteers.
An employee whose employer is an uninsured subcontractor can assert a claim against the supervising general contractor.
Florida
Chapter 440, Florida Statutes, et seq.
Department of Financial Services
Non-construction companies with four or more full or part-time employees are required to buy coverage.
All construction-related businesses are required to purchase coverage regardless of the number of employees unless that entity is permitted to file an owner exemption.
Doesn’t apply to: Bands, orchestras, musical or theater performers and DJs; Casual employees; Independent contractors (excluding construction industry); Licensed real estate brokers; Some sports officials; Some taxi cab or other vehicle for hire operators.
Georgia
Official Code of Georgia Annotated §§34-9-1, et seq.
Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation
Companies with three or more regular full-time employees are required to carry coverage.
Excludes rail common carriers engaged in interstate/intrastate commerce, domestic servants, farm laborers, independent contractors, and licensed real estate salespeople or associate brokers.
Hawaii
Hawaii Revised Statutes, Chapter 386
Department of Labor and Industrial Relations
Companies who employ one or more full-time, part-time, or temporary employees require coverage.
Some contractors are exempt.
Idaho
Idaho Code §72-101, et. seq.
Companies that employ one or more full-time, part-time, seasonal, or occasional employees are required to purchase coverage.
Doesn’t apply to casual workers, domestic servants, officials of secondary school athletics, pilots of spraying or dusting planes, real estate brokers and salespeople, volunteer ski patrol.
Illinois
820 Illinois Compiled Statutes Annotated 305/1, et seq.
Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission
All businesses with one or more full-time or part-time employees must carry coverage.
Doesn’t apply to farmers, jurors, or real estate brokers and salespeople.
Business owners who fail to make payments face fines of $500 per day with a $10,000 minimum fine.
Indiana
Ind. Code §22-3-1-1 et seq.
Workers’ Compensation Board of Indiana
Employers with one or more workers are required to purchase coverage.
This doesn’t apply to agricultural workers, casual laborers, employees of fire or police departments that have pension funds, household employees, and some railroad and railyard employees.
Iowa
Iowa Code §85.1 et seq.
All businesses who employ one or more full or part-time workers must carry insurance.
Doesn’t apply to agricultural employees earning less than $2,500 in the year prior to the injury, casual or household employees who earned less than $1,500 in the year prior to the injury, or some officers of corporations or farms.
Kansas
Kansas Statutes Annotated §44-501 et seq.
All employers are required to carry insurance.
No exceptions. This applies to anyone who has entered into service or apprenticeship.
Kentucky
Kentucky Revised Statutes § 342.0011 et seq.;803 Kentucky Administrative Regulations. 25:009 et seq.
All employers are required to carry insurance with only a few exceptions (see full statute).
This doesn’t apply to domestic servants (if there are less than two employed in the home for 40 or fewer hours per week) or maintenance or similar type workers employed in a private home if the employer has no other employees subject to workers’ comp.
Louisiana
Louisiana Revised Statutes Annotated §23:1021 et seq. Louisiana Revised Statutes Annotated §33:2581
Louisiana Workforce Commission
All employers are required to carry coverage with a few exclusions.
Doesn’t apply to employees of private homes, employees of unincorporated farms, musicians, or other performers under contract.
Maine
Maine Revised Statutes Annotated, title 39-A, or 39-A M.R.S.A. §101 et seq.
All employers with one or more full-time or part-time employees are required to purchase insurance.
Doesn’t apply to certain agricultural employees, independent contractors, or people covered by admiralty law.
Maryland
Maryland Code Ann., Lab & Empl. §9-101 (2014) et seq.; Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) Title 14, §09.01.01 et seq.
Workers’ Compensation Commission
Any business who employs workers must carry coverage.
See statute for specifics about exceptions.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 152
Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development
Companies with one or more employees are required to buy insurance.
Companies that employ their family members are still required to have coverage.
Doesn’t apply to casual employees, people employed in professional athletics, real estate brokers, and others who work on commission only, or those employed in interstate or foreign commerce.
Michigan
Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated 418.101-941
Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
Businesses with one or more employees that work 35+ hours a week for 13 weeks a year or longer are required to carry coverage.
Companies with 3 or more part-time employees also must purchase insurance.
Exclusions apply for domestic workers, real estate brokers or agents, some agricultural employees, and some smaller employers.
Minnesota
Minnesota Statutes Annotated Ch. 175A and 176, et seq.
Department of Labor and Industry
All employers are required to carry insurance.
Doesn’t apply to family farm operations, casual employees, and household workers.
Mississippi
Section 71-3-1 et. seq., MISS. CODE ANN
Workers’ Compensation Commission
All businesses with 5 or more employees regularly employed are required to carry coverage. If the business has less than 5 regular employees, coverage is not required but can be provided voluntarily by the employer.
Doesn’t apply to federal employees or certain transportation and maritime employments covered by federal compensation laws.
Missouri
Chapter 287 R.S.Mo. 2005
Department of Labor and Industrial Relations
Any business with 5 or more full-time or part-time employees is required to get insurance.
Doesn’t apply to direct sellers, domestic servants, farm laborers, inmates, owners/operators of leased trucks in interstate commerce, sports officials, or volunteers.
Montana
Mont. Code Ann. §39-71-101, et.seq.
Department of Labor and Industry
All businesses that employ one or more full or part-time employees must carry insurance.
There are many exemptions that are allowed in Montana. It’s important to read the full code and/or consult with an industry professional or with the Montana Department of Labor and Industry to determine if you need coverage.
Nebraska
Nebraska Revised Statutes §48-101 et. seq.
All employers who employ one or more employees must carry coverage.
Doesn’t apply to agricultural employees, domestic servants, or railroad employees engaged in interstate commerce.
Nevada
Nev. Rev. Stat. Chapters 616A-616D, Nev. Rev. Stat. Chapter 617
Department of Business & Industry
Companies with one or more employees must have insurance.
Overtime, tips, and severance are not deducted from the cost or workers’ comp coverage.
Doesn’t apply to casual employees, direct salespeople, domestic workers, members of the clergy, musicians (who work for two consecutive days or less), sports officials paid nominal fees, theatrical performers, or voluntary ski patrol.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated 281-A
Workers’ Compensation Division
Businesses with more than one full or part-time employees are required to purchase insurance, regardless if they are related or not. Non-profits are also required to carry coverage.
The only businesses exempt from being required to carry insurance are sole proprietorships and corporations that have only 3 corporate officers, and no employees other than these three officers.
New Jersey
New Jersey Statutes Annotated 34:15-1 et seq.
Department of Labor and Workforce Development
All employers are required to provide coverage. Out-of-state employers who hire employees in New Jersey and perform any work there are also required to carry state coverage.
Doesn’t apply to casual workers, domestic workers, employees who are willfully negligent, independent contractors, or inmate.
New Mexico
New Mexico Workers’ Compensation Act, New Mexico Statutes Annotated §§52-1-1, et seq.
Workers’ Compensation Administration
A business with more than 3 full or part-time employees is required to carry coverage. Construction companies are required to carry coverage regardless of the number of employees.
Doesn’t apply to household servants, real estate salespersons, and farm/ranch laborers.
New York
Workers’ Compensation Law of the State of New York
Almost all businesses are required to carry coverage if they have employees.
Sole proprietors are not required to carry coverage unless they have one or more employees, in which case they can elect to carry coverage.
North Carolina
N.C. Gen. Stat. §97
Generally, all employers with 3 or more regular full or part-time employees are required to carry coverage. All corporations, including non-profits, are required to buy coverage if they have 3 employees, even if they aren’t regularly employed.
See the statute for specifics about exceptions.
North Dakota
North Dakota Century Code Title 65 (Chapters 65-01 through 65-10)
Workforce Safety and Insurance
All employers with any amount of employees are required to purchase coverage including full-time, part-time, seasonal, and occasional employees.
Doesn’t apply to anyone doing something illegal, casual employees, independent contractors, spouses or children under age 22 of the employer, members of boards of directors, newspaper delivery people, or real estate brokers and salespeople
Workers’ compensation insurance must be bought from a state fund.
Ohio
Ohio Revised Code §4121.01 et. seq. Ohio Administrative Code §4121-01 et. seq.
Bureau of Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ compensation insurance must be bought from a state fund.
No exemptions.
Oklahoma
Okla. Stat. tit. 85, §§301-413
Every employer is required to purchase insurance regardless of the number of employees.
This does not apply to horticulture workers not using motorized machines, anyone employed by an employer with less than five employees who are all related, employees of tax-exempt youth sports leagues, domestic servants in a private home, real estate brokers, sole proprietors, volunteers, owner-operators of trucks or workers who provide medical care or social services.
Oregon
Workers’ Compensation Law. Or. Rev. Stat. §656.001
Workers’ Compensation Division
Employers with one or more full-time or part-time employees are required to carry insurance. There are non-numeric exceptions for employers, but all employees are required to be covered.
Doesn’t apply to casual employees or inmates.
Pennsylvania
Worker’s Compensation Act of June 24, 1996, P.L. 350, No. 57
Bureau of Workers’ Compensation
Most business owners are required to purchase insurance if they have one or more employees. Businesses without any employees are generally able to exclude coverage.
Doesn’t cover casual employees.
Intentional noncompliance with workers’ compensation laws is a felony that can result in a sentence of up to seven years.
Rhode Island
R.I. Gen. Laws. 27-7.1-1, et. seq.
Department of Labor & Training
Companies with 4 or more full-time or part-time employees are required to purchase insurance.
Doesn’t apply to independent contractors, real estate agents and brokers, agricultural employees, and domestic service employees.
South Carolina
S.C. Code Ann. §42-1-110 et seq.
Workers’ Compensation Commission
Businesses with four or more full or part-time employees are required to get insurance.
Doesn’t apply to agricultural, railroad, railway express companies, and their employees. It also doesn’t cover employers who had a total annual payroll of less than $3,000 the previous year.
South Dakota
SDCL Title 62
Department of Labor and Regulation
All employers in South Dakota are required to carry insurance.
Jury duty, holiday pay, vacation pay, and sick pay may be excluded from your insurance premium calculations.
Doesn’t apply to domestic servants working less than 20 hours a week, farm workers, independent contractors, or volunteers.
Tennessee
T.C.A. §50-6-101, et seq.
Department of Labor and Workforce Development
All businesses with five or more full-time or part-time employees are required to carry coverage.
Doesn’t apply to some undocumented workers.
Texas
Texas Labor Code Annotated § 401.001 et. seq.
Texas is the only state that does not require employers to get workers’ comp insurance. Business owners who purchase coverage are called Subscribers. Non-subscribed companies are still responsible for paying benefits.
All businesses involved in projects for government entities are required to carry insurance.
Utah
Utah Code Annotated §34A-2-101, et seq.
All employers must purchase insurance.
Companies that hire out their services and have no employees are permitted to waive their rights to coverage. These individuals are required to obtain a Workers’ Compensation Coverage Waiver (WCCW), which must be renewed annually.
Vermont
Vermont Statutes Annotated title 21, § 601 et seq.
Businesses that hire one or more employees must carry coverage.
This doesn’t apply to assistant judges, casual employees, those engaged in amateur sports, domestic workers, farm workers, illegally hired minors, members of an employers family who live in their home, or sole proprietors or partners in an unincorporated.
Virginia
Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act, Title 65.2 Code of Virginia 1950
Workers’ Compensation Commission
Businesses with 3 or more full-time or part-time employees are required to carry coverage. Companies with less than 3 employees can still be liable for the cost of a claim if insurance isn’t purchased.
This Doesn’t apply to anyone whose employment is not within the usual course of the employer’s business.
Washington
RCW 51.04.010 to 51.98.080
Department of Labor and Industries
All businesses with one or more full or part-time employees are required to obtain insurance from a state fund.
See statute for specific exceptions.
West Virginia
W. Va. Code §23-1-1 et seq.
Offices of the Insurance Commission
Most employers are required to carry coverage if they have 5 or more employees.
Doesn’t include: Companies with 5 or fewer full-time employees in agricultural services, churches, professional sports, including jockeys and trainers engaged in thoroughbred horse racing, and employers of domestic services.
Wisconsin
Wis. Stat. §102.01-.89 (2011)
Department of Workforce Development
Businesses must carry coverage if they regularly employ 3 or more full/part-time employees.
Doesn’t apply to domestic servants or most volunteers.
Wyoming
Wyoming Statutes §27-14-101, et seq.
Department of Workforce Services
All employers with any employees are typically required to purchase insurance from a state fund.
The state may determine whether some businesses can have optional coverage.
It’s important to stay informed and make sure that you and your employees are aware of the certain laws and regulations that apply to them and your company.
Get a No Obligation Quote for Workers’ Compensation Insurance
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