32 N.Y. Businessowners Charged with Workers' Comp Fraud
East News • June 25, 2007
The owners of 32 businesses have been accused of lying about their employees to avoid paying into the workers' compensation fund, state regulators said.
The Westchester businesses, mostly small ...
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Subject: RE: WC Fraud
Posted On: June 26, 2007, 1:16 pm CDT
Posted By: Des de Mona
Comment:
I cannot begin to tell you how many discussions I have had with (primarily select or middle market) prospects about their WC, and more recently about the legal status of their workforce.
Many employers I talked to, especially those requiring a fair amount of manual semi- or unskilled labor, feel that they can under-report their payrolls because the WC carrier would only pay claims for those with (their own legitimate) Social Security numbers.
It is my observation that undocumented workers typically do not file claims because they are afraid of being discovered. Such employers thus have shadow workforces, and it is difficult getting someone to more-properly declare payrolls by simply telling them that the penalties are significantly worse than the premiums.
Insuring Workers Comp properly almost goes hand in hand with having a fully legal workforce. Look around you and wonder whether your office cleaning staff, maintenance people etc provided to you by landlords are not only properly documented but properly insured. Do they become your headache if they are injured while cleaning/maintianing your space, when their own employer isn't covering them properly? Are they uninsured subs?
Please don't allow this to become a diatribe about immigration laws, etc. I am more interested in learning a methodology for proper advice to a prospect or client whose labor must be declared, who can claim benefits without being deported, and what the implications are for not declaring their employees.
Subject: RE: WC Fraud
Many employers I talked to, especially those requiring a fair amount of manual semi- or unskilled labor, feel that they can under-report their payrolls because the WC carrier would only pay claims for those with (their own legitimate) Social Security numbers.
It is my observation that undocumented workers typically do not file claims because they are afraid of being discovered. Such employers thus have shadow workforces, and it is difficult getting someone to more-properly declare payrolls by simply telling them that the penalties are significantly worse than the premiums.
Insuring Workers Comp properly almost goes hand in hand with having a fully legal workforce. Look around you and wonder whether your office cleaning staff, maintenance people etc provided to you by landlords are not only properly documented but properly insured. Do they become your headache if they are injured while cleaning/maintianing your space, when their own employer isn't covering them properly? Are they uninsured subs?
Please don't allow this to become a diatribe about immigration laws, etc. I am more interested in learning a methodology for proper advice to a prospect or client whose labor must be declared, who can claim benefits without being deported, and what the implications are for not declaring their employees.