The Missouri Department of Labor & Industrial Relations Division of Workers Compensation released a new video this week – “Overview of Work Comp.” The video features interview segments with HBA of Greater Springfield CEO Matt Morrow, and provides a concise description of what Missouri Workers Compensation law requires of businesses that operate in the construction industry. The video also picks up where the division’s first video (“5 Myths of Work Comp) left off, dispelling commonly-held misconceptions about who is and who isn’t required to carry workers compensation insurance under Missouri law.
Active and current workers compensation insurance is a requirement for membership in the Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield. Many non-members fail to carry the insurance that is required by Missouri law. In some cases, these contractors may knowingly be in violation of the law. But in many cases, they simply misread the requirements of the law, or were misinformed by someone else who misread the requirements. The division’s new video series is meant to make requirements for businesses in the construction industry under Missouri’s workers compensation law crystal clear:
The HBA of Greater Springfield upholds the professionalism of the industry, helping enforce workers compensation insurance requirements by making them a requirement of membership. The “Overview of Work Comp” video is the latest in a series of steps taken by the HBA to work with the Division of Workers Comp to better clarify, enforce, and uphold professional standards. Other recent steps have included:
- In 2009 the HBA initiated meetings with local permitting jurisdictions and the Missouri Attorney General in an effort to see current Missouri Workers Compensation Law be more consistently enforced at the local and state levels.
- In late 2009 & 2010, the HBA successfully worked with the Division of Workers Compensation to re-write the state’s official “Affidavit of Exemption” and to develop a simple guidance brochure to better clarify the definition of “employee” and the penalties for falsely claiming exemption from the law (to download the brochure, click here. To see a comparison of the first page of the old and new Affidavit of Exemption form, click here. To download the full version of the new form, click here).
- In 2010 & 2011, to help educate municipal licensing officers, the HBA worked closely with Administrative Law Judge Margaret Holden to prepare and deliver a series of joint presentations to audiences of city clerks and other city and county officials, as well as construction industry audiences.
- In an effort to provide consumers with a simple way to verify their contractors’ compliance with state law, the division has now developed an on-line tool that allows anyone to verify work comp coverage. It is a valuable proof of insurance tool which could be used by contractors, company employees, government agencies and homeowners to protect themselves when working with construction related businesses. To enter the web portal for the search tool, click here.
- Earlier this year, the Division of Workers Compensation released its first in a series of educational videos aimed at clarifying Missouri workers compensation law and the specific requirements the law holds for businesses in the construction industry. That video (“5 Myths of Work Comp“) can be viewed by clicking here.
- HBA of Greater Springfield President Matt Bailey and Past President Rusty MacLachlan were featured earlier this year in a Contact KY3 news segment about why it should matter to consumers that their contractor carries workers’ compensation insurance. That story can be viewed by clicking here.