Compliance
with Tennessee Workers' Compensation LawThe Compliance Program of the Bureau is responsible for ensuring that employers operating in Tennessee comply with the coverage requirements of the Tennessee Workers' Compensation Law.
Everyone pays for non-compliance
An economic domino effect occurs when a person is injured on the job and the employer does not have valid workers' compensation insurance. The injured worker may not have the means to pay for medical care or family expenses. A death may have other co-workers feeling fearful or lose trust in their employer. When an employer does not fulfill its legal obligations to its employees, Tennessee taxpayers bear a financial burden. TennCare, Social Security Disability Insurance, unemployment, and other public assistance programs provide benefits that should have been paid by the employer. The results of non-compliance are more than just numbers: they involve real Tennesseans.
Learn more about
The Employee Misclassification Education and Enforcement Fund (EMEEF) program identifies employers who misclassify and often deny employees coverage to avoid paying the appropriate workers' compensation insurance premiums.
The Uninsured Employers Fund (UEF) program identifies employers who fail to provide any workers' compensation coverage to employees in spite of the law's requirements.
Subpoenas
The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has the authority to issue subpoenas to compel entities or individuals to provide requested documentation during the course of an investigation, or provide testimony at a contested hearing. If you have received a subpoena from the Bureau, it is important that you take it seriously. There could be a civil penalty of $50 per day, up to $5,000 for failing to comply with the subpoena.
Assessment of Penalties
If a violation has occurred, a penalty equal to 1.5 times the avoided premium will be assessed against the entity. These penalties could increase to three times the avoided premium if you have multiple violations over a five-year period.
Settlement Agreements
The Bureau will offer every entity receiving an assessment an interest-free payment plan. These are drafted by our Compliance Attorneys.
Contested Case Hearing
If an entity does not agree with the penalty assessment, it can request a contested case hearing. This is an opportunity to have your case heard by an administrative law judge, who will make a final determination.
Outreach
Educating the public about the importance of workers' compensation insurance coverage is an important part of the work of the Compliance Program. Language barriers and immigration status can often prevent Spanish-speaking workers from pursuing their workers' compensation cases, even though they are entitled to the same benefits as other workers.
Request a speaker about:
- General Compliance Program Overview
- Compliance for Construction Services Providers
- Compliance for Spanish speaking Employers
- Workers' Compensation Exemption Registry
Compliance Specialists
There are currently 8 Compliance Specialists for the compliance program across the state.
- Michelle Brocious (West & Middle TN Supervisor)
- Catrina Pearson
- Taylor Johnson
- Nicolette Sanders
- Kim Stoner (East TN Supervisor)
- Tae Massey
- Rick Day
- Matthew Bodkins
View their contact info on our Investigator Territories map.
The Compliance Specialist will conduct a review of a business to determine whether there are any violations of the coverage requirements of the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Law. If any possible violations are found, such as a lack of coverage or misclassification, a Request for Information packet will be sent to the employer. The employer will have a designated period of time to complete the packet and return it to the Compliance Specialist.
Investigations
We investigate employers who may be trying to gain financially by violating the law. Compliance specialists research and investigate cases to identify and penalize non-compliant employers. We look to ensure a proper workers' compensation coverage is provided that payroll is properly reported to avoid falsely low insurance premiums. For construction service providers, we verify that a company's workers are not falsely misclassified as "independent contractors" to avoid paying workers' compensation coverage on those misclassified employees.
Send a misclassification tip
Exemptions Registry
The Exemption Registry allows a business owner to exempt him or herself from the requirement to carry workers' compensation insurance. Exemption is only available to individual business owners engaged in the construction services industry and applies only to the owners themselves.
Our investigations revealed troubling cases where some employers and insurance agents were inappropriately signing employees up for the Exemption Registry without their knowledge. If the employees were injured on the job, they had to pay for their injuries themselves.