PA WC Coverage Requirements

The requirement to insure workers’ compensation liability is mandatory for any employer who:

• employs at least one employee who could be injured or develop a work-related disease in this state, or
• could be injured outside the state if the employment is principally localized in Pennsylvania, or
• could be injured outside the state, while under a contract of hire made in Pennsylvania, if the employment is not principally localized in any state, if the employment is principally localized in a state whose workers’ compensation laws do not apply, or the employment is outside the United States and Canada,

UNLESS all employees are excluded from the provisions of Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation laws.

Exclusions to the Coverage Requirements
In Pennsylvania, an employer may be excluded from the requirement to insure its workers’ compensation liability only if ALL workers employed by it fall into one or more of the following categories:

• Federal Workers
• Longshoremen
• Railroad Workers
• Casual workers whose character AND not in the of the employer.
• Persons who work out of their own homes or other premises not under the control or management of the enterprise AND make up, clean, wash, alter, ornament. finish, repair, or adapt articles or materials for sale that are given to them.
• Agricultural laborers earning under $1,200 per person per calendar year AND no one agricultural laborer works 30 days or more per calendar year AND/OR the agricultural labor is provided by the employer’s spouse or child(ren) under the age of 18 who have not sought inclusion under Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation laws by filing an express written contract of hire with the Department.
• Domestic workers who have not elected with the Department of Labor and Industry to come under the provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act.
• Sole proprietor or general partners.
• Persons granted exemption due to their religious beliefs by the Department of Labor and Industry.
• Executive officers who have been granted exclusion by the Department of Labor and Industry.
• Licensed real estate salespersons or associate real estate brokers affiliated with a licensed insurance agency, under a written agreement, remunerated on a commission-only basis and qualifying as independent contractors for State tax purposes or for Federal tax purposes under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

 

NOTE: Unless ALL employees meet one or more of the above exclusions, the employer must insure its workers’ compensation liability, even if the employees are working limited part-time hours or are family members such as a spouse or children.

Questions as to how categories would apply to specific workers should be directed to your personal attorney for interpretation.