Rhode Island Workers’ Compensation

RI Workers’ Compensation

Rhode Island workers’ compensation laws say you need workers’ compensation insurance if you have employees.¹ The workers’ compensation system makes sure your employees have medical benefits if they get hurt or sick because of their job. It can also help replace lost income if they take time off to recover from a work-related injury.

Workers’ comp can help protect your business, too. In case of a work-related injury or illness, it can reduce your liability.

In RI, you can get workers’ compensation from a licensed insurance company, like The Hartford. Get a cita hoy mismo o llame al 855-829-1683 to speak with one of our specialists.

Workers’ Compensation RI Coverage & Requirements

Rhode Island workers’ compensation insurance from The Hartford helps protect your business and employees. If an employee has a work-related injury or illness, workers’ comp provides benefits to help them recover. Workers’ compensation can also help limit your liabilities if work-related accidents happen.

What’s covered? If an employee gets hurt on the job or acquires a work-related illness, workers’ comp can help pay medical care as they recover. It can also help replace lost income if they need to take time off. Injured workers can even get disability benefits or vocational rehabilitation to help them return to work.

Workers’ comp can:

Help cover medical expenses and ongoing care if your employee were to trip over a box in the warehouse and need to go to the hospital.
Replace some of your employee’s lost income and help with their medical expenses if they were to break their leg while using heavy machinery and need time to recover.
Help cover the costs of your employee’s treatment for repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel.

Coverage requirements in Rhode Island say you must have workers’ compensation insurance if you have employees.² There are workers' comp exemptions for some employees, including:

Sole proprietors³
Partners⁴
Certain real estate, agricultural and domestic service employees⁵

Even if an employee is exempt from workers’ comp, you can still include them in your workers’ comp coverage. This can help protect them in case of a work-related accident.

In Rhode Island, you must display a poster in your workplace that shows you have workers’ compensation coverage. This poster must include the name of your insurance company, and if you don’t display it, you can receive a fine of $250.⁶

Proof of coverage is also called a certificate of insurance. It is a document that shows your business meets Rhode Island insurance requirements. This document proves to clients that your business has the necessary insurance coverage. It also includes important details about your policy.

The first step in getting your proof of coverage is to start a workers' compensation cita.

What Rhode Island Workers’ Compensation Covers:

A Rhode Island workers’ comp policy from The Hartford can help cover:

Missed wages if employees with work-related injuries or illnesses need time off to recover.

Repetitive stress injuries, like carpal tunnel syndrome. A repetitive stress injury is one that develops over time, rather than a single incident.

Disability benefits if a work-related injury keeps your employee from coming back to work.

Ongoing care beyond the initial treatment, including physical therapy and surgeries.

Funeral costs in the unfortunate event that an employee loses their life in a work-related accident.

RI Workers’ Compensation & Independent Contractors

Independent contractors aren’t eligible for workers’ comp coverage in Rhode Island. Instead, they must file a “Notice of Designation as Independent Contractor (DWC 11-IC)” form for each business they work for.⁷Rhode Island defines an independent contractor as someone who “has an independent business and is available to hire.” Independent contractors also:

Set their own hours
Use their own tools
Work when they want and for whomever they want
Pay their own state and federal tax withholdings

You don’t have to have workers’ compensation coverage for exempt contractors.⁸But if they’re working only for you and they’re supervised by you, they’re considered an employee,⁹which means you have to provide workers’ comp for them.

Rhode Island Workers’ Compensation Rates

Some factors that decide workers’ compensation rates in Rhode Island include your:

Industria
Nómina de Sueldos
Experiencia

How much risk your business faces also factors into your workers’ comp cost. For example, a construction business is likely to pay more for workers’ comp insurance than a marketing consulting firm.

Some businesses may not be able to get workers’ comp coverage through private insurance carriers. This can happen if your business is new or has a history of claims. If you can’t get workers’ comp through an insurance company, you should call the Department of Labor and Training’s Workers’ Compensation Fraud and Compliance Unit at 401-462-8100. You can also call the Department of Business Regulation’s Insurance Division at 401-462-9520.

If you need more information on workers’ compensation, visit Rhode Island’s Department of Labor and Training website.

RI Workers’ Compensation & Employee Responsibilities

If one of your employees has a work-related injury or illness, they should seek medical attention immediately. They should also report the injury or illness right away, or as soon as they realize it is work-related. ¹⁰

If an injury or illness keeps someone from earning full wages for three days, you must report it to your workers’ compensation company.¹¹ Your insurance company will notify Rhode Island’s Department of Labor and Training within 10 days. You must report fatal injuries within 48 hours.¹² If you don’t report a work-related injury or illness to your insurance company, you can face a fine of $250.¹³

Rhode Island Workers’ Compensation Claims

To file a claim for workers’ compensation in Rhode Island, visit our workers’ comp claims page today.

This article provides general information, and should not be construed as specific legal, HR, financial, insurance, tax or accounting advice. As with all matters of a legal or human resources nature, you should consult with your own legal counsel and human resources professionals. The Hartford shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, consequential, incidental, punitive or exemplary damages in connection with the use by you or anyone of the information provided herein.

^1,2 Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, “Workers’ Compensation: Information for Employers”

^3,4,5Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, “Workers’ Compensation: Information for Workers Injured on the Job”

^6,7,11,12,13 Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, “What Employers Should Know About Workers’ Compensation”

^8,9 Rhode Island Department of Labor, “Workers’ Compensation: Information for Independent Contractors”

¹⁰ Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, “Information for Workers Injured on the Job”