Florida Department of Financial Services | Bureau of Compliance

The Navigator | Issue #2.4

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In response to the pandemic, many employers have implemented work-at-home programs for their employees. Having employees who work remotely (from their home) may cause confusion for some employers regarding the requirement for securing workers’ compensation coverage for those employees. Florida defines an employee as a person who performs a service for an employer and receives remuneration for such service. The Workers’ Compensation Law does not make reference to the location of where services are being performed when defining an employee. Home based employees have the same workers’ compensation benefits as in-office employees.

Furthermore, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires employers to provide a safe work location for employees. This can be tricky when employees are working from home.

Employers may consider creating a work at home survey for employees to ensure safe working conditions. An employer should not assume their employee’s home is suitable for teleworking. Workers’ compensation injuries can occur while working from home as well as in the office; therefore, employers will want to ensure their business is meeting Florida’s coverage requirements.

Employers in the non-construction industry are required to provide workers’ compensation coverage for employees when they employ four or more employees. Employees include in-office and home office workers. To find insurance companies writing insurance for specific lines of business, search our Coverage Assistance Program at www.MyFloridaCFO.com/Division/WC and select Coverage Assistance from the Quick Links section.

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

BUREAU OF COMPLIANCE

OCTOBER 2020

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D I V I S I O N O F WO R K E R S ’ C O M P E N S AT I O N

IN THIS ISSUE

District Spotlight 2

Mold Remediation 2

Employer's Record Maintenance 3

Toolkit 3

Seminars and Webinars 4

Contact Us 4

WEBINARS

Upcoming Dates for WC Webinars

All webinars start at 2:00 PM

October 14th & 15th

November 18th & 19th

December 9th & 10th

To register, email:

BOCSeminars@MyFloridaCFO.com

Remote Working and Employer’s Responsibility for W.C. Coverage

Florida Department of Financial Services | Bureau of Compliance

The Navigator | Issue #2.4

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Sunny West Palm Beach, comprised of an array of vibrant communities and beautiful beaches is the home of the District 2 field office for the Bureau of Compliance. The District has satellite offices in Ft. Pierce and Fort Lauderdale which allows them to conveniently service Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, Okeechobee, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties.

During fiscal year 19-20, the in-vestigators in this District conducted over 1,500 investigations resulting in 170 violations of Florida Workers’ Compensation Law. The examiners from this office processed more than 27,000 exemption applications.

While beaches are not unique to the Florida landscape, the geography of District 2 is primarily centered around coastal areas. This unique territory requires investigators in this district to be especially knowledgeable about several Federal Acts related to work along the shoreline and upon navigable waterways; notably the Jones Act and Longshore and

District Spotlight: West Palm Beach

Harbor Workers Act. The Jones Act covers employees working upon ships navigating waterways. These employees are onboard serving as members of the crew. Longshore and Harbor Workers Act covers employees injured on the job when the job is on the navigable waters of the US, or in adjoining areas used for loading, unloading, repairing, or building of vessels. Investigators in District 2 encounter employees who are covered under these Federal Acts frequently and must be able to determine if the Florida Workers’ Compensation Law is applicable or if the employee is covered by a Federal Act coverage.

Mold RemediationWorkers’ Compensation RequirementsMold is found everywhere in indoor and outdoor air. Mold needs moisture to grow and the humidity in our Florida climate provides a ripe breeding ground for mold spores of all varieties. Certain types of mold can be harmful to the human respiratory system and create problems when it invades residences and workplaces. Often, in Florida, mold becomes problematic because of a structure being flooded, either through natural causes (rain and storms) or pipe leaks and water heaters or HVAC system failures.

Mold remediation involves a variety of activities, which can lead to misconceptions about how Florida

workers’ compensation requirements apply to this type of business. The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) is the governing entity regarding classification codes and determination of an employer’s industry. Each classification code falls under either the industry of construction, non-construction, or agriculture. So, how is a mold remediation company classified and what does this mean in terms of coverage requirements?

Mold remediation frequently involves removing and replacing of flooring, wallboard, and wood framing. Each of these operations, when conducted independently, falls within the con-struction industry.

Based on these activities, mold remediation falls under classification

code 5473 which encompasses asbestos removal operations and is also in the construction industry. Mold remediation is placed under this code because the level of risk involved is comparable to that of asbestos removal. Individuals working in these conditions are required to wear protective equipment to mitigate their exposure to harmful fumes from both mold and asbestos.

Mold assessors and remediators are licensed through Department of Business and Professional Regulations (DBPR).

More information on coverage req-uirements in the construction industry can be found on our website: www.myfloridacfo.com/Division/WC.

For more information about these Federal coverages, visit the Department of Labor at https://www.dol.gov/owcp/dlhwc/.

Florida Department of Financial Services | Bureau of Compliance

The Navigator | Issue #2.4

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Employer’s Record Maintenance Requirements

In June 2020, the Division published the first COVID-19 report on its website. Each month the report is updated, and new data is analyzed and evaluated. Four primary topics are covered within each month’s report; claim reporting frequency, claim costs & characteristics, coverage information, and telemedicine. Claims frequency examines the total number

This issue begins a four-part series on employer’s record maintenance requirements. Employers are re-quired to maintain business records for many different federal, state, and local agencies and produce records, if requested. This often happens during an audit of the employer.

Keeping good records has multiple benefits for the employer as well, including ease in filing federal taxes; ability to evaluate their own progress and determine areas of profitability and loss, and can help the employer when dealing with banks or creditors for loans.

Record retention periods vary based on the type of record. The retention

period for personnel records, sales records, and payroll records will differ.

For compliance purposes, the focus is payroll records, since they are the records requested by the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) during an audit. Rule 69L-6.032 and 69L-6.015, Florida Administrative Code identifies record maintenance and production requirements for employers operating their business in Florida.

To calculate accurate workers’ compensation premium and assess an accurate penalty, employers need to provide clear and concise business records identifying payments for labor.

of COVID-19 related workers’ comp-ensation claims and compares the frequency of those claims to all other workers’ compensation claims. Claim costs & claim characteristics takes an in-depth look at the claims filed and evaluates the cost of claims, location (county) of the reported claims, and presents an analysis of claims by industry. A comparison regarding

Building Your ToolKit

The types of records an employer is required to keep for workers’ compensation purposes can be divided into four basic categories: identifying data, payroll records, prior coverage, and contracts for work. Additionally, the employer should keep record of what types of work each employee and contractor perform. Business records can be requested for up to two years preceding the violation and must be produced by the employer upon request.

Specific record category types will be discussed in future issues of the Navigator.

coverage information follows the claims and includes an analysis of 2019 and 2020 policy cancellations, reinstatements, and new policies issued. Finally, telemedicine use has increased substantially since the onset of COVID-19. The report covers types of providers utilizing telemedicine as well as data regarding the increased use of telemedicine.

Florida Department of Financial Services | Bureau of Compliance

The Navigator | Issue #2.4

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USEFUL LINKS:

FAST FACTS:

SEMINARS AND WEBINARSLocation & Dates for Employer Seminars:

If you are interested in registering for an upcoming WEBINAR or EMPLOYER SEMINAR, please contact the BOC for opportunities that may be available to you via email at: BOCSeminars@MyFloridaCFO.com.

D I V I S I O N O F WO R K E R S ’ C O M P E N S AT I O NB U R E A U O F C O M P L I A N C E

The Division’s Website Address: www.MyFloridaCFO.com/Division/WC/

Bureau of Compliance Customer Service: 1-850-413-1609

Bureau of Employee Assistance & Ombudsman Office (Assists Injured Workers): 1-800-342-1741

For Feedback or Suggestions: BOCFeedback@MyFloridaCFO.com

www.twitter.com/FLDFS

www.facebook.com/FLDFS

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Follow the Department of Financial Services:

The Webinar Sessions for Workers’ Compensation and Workplace Safety are from 2:00 PM thru 3:00 PM on the following dates:

October 14th and 15th

November 18th and 19th

Look for more seminar dates in 2021.

COVID-19 Reporthttps://www.myfloridacfo.

com/Division/WC/PublicationsFormsManualsReports/

Reports/

There were

17,653 COVID-19 workers’

compensation claims resulting in over

$22 million paid in benefits as of

August 31, 2020.