Please read the following compliance notice to avoid administrative penalties:
Private employers in Texas can elect whether or not to purchase workers’ compensation insurance. Texas law requires employers that don’t carry workers’ compensation insurance (or terminate coverage) to annually notify the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) of their status as a “non-subscriber”. The law also requires that non-subscribing employers with more than five employees to file a report with the agency when an employee is injured and is off work for more than a day. Compliance with these regulations has been very low in the past and the agency is beginning an initiative to get more employers to file these reports. Because many employers may be unaware of the reporting requirements, TDI has issued the memo providing for a “grace period” that allows employers to come into compliance without being subject to any administrative violations for past non-compliance. The grace period extends through April 30, 2016 so please review the information to determine whether your business needs to file a report.
NFIB/Texas is assisting the agency to broadcast the notice in an effort to bring as many employers into compliance as possible in order to avoid administrative penalties. The DWC-5 form (notifying the agency of your status as a non-subscriber) can be filled out on-line and takes just a few minutes. That form needs to be filed annually. The agency is developing an online version of the DWC-7, which is the report of injury but at the time that is a paper form.
We encourage you to take advantage of the grace period and begin reporting your status immediately. Please contact the NFIB/TX office with any questions, or the TDI DWC directly.
