California Workers Compensation Changes

Not all change is good – If you have a Work Comp policy – please read this below:

Once Again – the great State of California has decided to make it more difficult to do business – This law goes into effect 1/1/2017 and affects ALL work comp policies in effect that day – even if they are in the middle of a term….  Each carrier is handling the situation  differently – please pay attention to all the correspondence that your Work Comp Carrier sends you – If you have any questions – please contact our office asap

Update on passage of California State Assembly Bill 2883
New law clarifies who may be excluded from workers’ compensation coverage 

The California state legislature recent passed Assembly Bill 2883 (AB 2883), which will take effect on January 1, 2017 for all workers’ compensation business, including all in-force policies. This change in law clarifies who may be excluded from coverage and the method by which an individual may be excluded.

Highlights of the key changes in law are:

Corporations:
An officer or member of the board of directors while rendering actual service for the corporation for pay must own at least 15% of the outstanding stock of the corporation to be excluded and must sign a written waiver of workers’ compensation benefits under penalty of perjury that he or she is a qualifying officer or director.

Partnerships / LLCs:
For working general partners of a general partnership and working managing members of a limited liability company who receive wages irrespective of profits that are to be excluded from coverage, the individual must sign a written waiver of workers’ compensation benefits under penalty of perjury that he or she is a qualifying general partner or managing member.

A separate, signed waiver is required for each individual electing to be excluded from coverage, and is not effective until received and accepted Please note: The waiver must be signed by the individual to be excluded from coverage. Company representative signatures will not be accepted.

To avoid any interruptions in the existing exclusions on in-force policies, we are requesting that the signed waivers be returned to us as soon as possible, but no later than December 20, 2016. If not received and accepted by us prior to January 1, 2017, the exclusion endorsement currently attached to a policy will be void on January 1, 2017 and the policy will be endorsed to include the officers, general partners or managing members for coverage.