Workers’ compensation is an essential benefit all businesses are required to provide for their employees. Regardless of what industry your business operates in or what type of company you run; injuries are inevitable.
Workers’ compensation insurance will ensure your employees receive tax-free benefits for any injury they sustained while doing their job. It helps employees pay for medical bills and rehabilitation, as well as compensate for lost wages.
In this article, we will help you understand what you need to know about filing workman’s comp in Minneapolis and anywhere else in Minnesota.
Who Qualifies for Workers’ Compensation?
All employees who are injured while working qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. This applies whether the injuries are sustained within your business premises or not. Businesses that hire part-time employees are also required to provide them with workers’ compensation insurance.
Minnesota workers who are injured on the job while out-of-state are also covered. However, the following requirements must be met:
- The employee was formally hired in Minnesota, not still undergoing the hiring process.
- The employee was hired by a company based in Minnesota.
- The employee was injured while temporarily working out of state, rather than permanently relocated to another state.
Who Files for Workman’s Comp in Minneapolis?
In the state of Minnesota, it is the employer that files for workers’ compensation rather than the employees. This holds true for both big and small businesses.
Whenever an employee is injured on the job, they are required to notify their supervisor or boss and get immediate medical treatment, if necessary. However, the responsibility of filing the claims falls on the employer’s shoulders.
Wrongly filing workman’s comp in Minneapolis may lead to unnecessary legal troubles and further conflict with your workers. The same goes for workers’ compensation claims that are not filed within given timeframes.
Thus, proper and timely filing of workers’ compensation benefits is a necessary knowledge for any business owner.
Where Do I File for Workers’ Compensation?
Workers’ compensation is administered by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI). The department handles all claims for workman’s comp in Minneapolis.
Workers’ compensation benefits may be provided by either private insurance companies or by applying for assigned risk-plan or assigned risk-pool insurance coverage. Regardless of which type of workers’ compensation insurance you and other employers choose, the DLI will process all workman’s comp claims.
What Forms Should I Submit for Workers’ Compensation Claims?
Once you have been duly notified of your employee’s injury, these are the administrative forms all employers may be required to submit.
First Report of Injury or FR01 Form
Make sure to notify your insurance carrier as soon as you receive your employee’s injury notice. To do so, you need to submit a completed FR01 or First Report of Injury form.
Employers are only given 10 days to file the FR01 form after receiving their employees’ notice of injury. Take note that claims for serious injuries or fatal accidents must be filed within 48 hours of being notified. After filing, your insurance provider will submit an electronic report to the DLI.
Remember to provide a copy of the FR01 form to the employee, as well. For lost-time compensation claims, a copy of the FR01 form may also be sent to the union, if your employee is a member.
The employees should also receive a copy of the insurer’s form regarding their acceptance or denial of the claim. If the claims are accepted, the document would include the following:
- Claim number
- Insurance adjuster’s name and contact details
- Average weekly wages
- Compensation rate
- When the benefits payments would start
If the claims are denied, the document given to the employee would detail the reason or reasons why. It would also include any pertinent facts that support the denial of liability.
Notice of Insurer’s Primary Liability Determination or NOPLD Form
The Notice of Insurer’s Primary Liability Determination or NOPLD Form is accomplished and filed by insurers, self-insured employers, and third-party administrators.
This form is only filed after the FR01 has been submitted. The NOPLD form is used to report the insurer’s stance on the claims’ liability, specifically whether they accept or deny the claims.
The NOPLD form is also used to report the start of wage-loss benefits payments upon acceptance of injury or death claims. This applies to the following:
- Temporary total or partial disability
- Permanent total disability
- Dependency or fatality without dependents
Insurers or self-insured employers may file the NOPLD more than once over different periods to report any changes to their stance or changes to any claim details. For instance, should the insurer initially accept the claims and primary liability but later deny it or vice-versa, they are required to submit an amended NOPLD form.
Disability Status Report or DSR Form
Submitting a Disability Status Report or DSR form is required whenever a worker needs more than 13 weeks to recover from their injuries, or they received a rehabilitation consultation request.
The DSR form needs to be filed if employers are notified within 14 days of their workers’ extended leave of absence. The form can also be filed within three months or the first 90 calendar days upon the workers’ accident or injury if they are unable to return to work.
Are All Employee Injury Notices or Claims Accepted?
When an employee gets injured while on the job, they are required to notify you or their supervisor as soon as possible. The claim may be denied by employers, depending on when a worker notifies their employer about their injury.
Take note of the following to know your rights as an employer:
- Notices filed within 14 days: This is considered a timely notice of workers’ injury. Employers cannot deny such workers’ compensation claims.
- Notices filed within 15 to 30 days: These claims may be denied due to late notification but only if the employer can prove that they were prejudiced by the delay.
- Notices filed between 30 to 180 days: These compensation claims may be denied due to lack of timely notice unless the reasons were due to physical inability to notify employers, ignorance of the law, an honest mistake, or misrepresentation and fraud by the company.
- Notices filed beyond 180 days: Workers’ injury notices filed beyond three months are automatically denied unless due to mental or physical incapacity. Following recovery, the employee must still notify the company within 180 days for the claims to be accepted.
The Bottom Line
Filing workmans comp in Minneapolis is an important task that’s easy to get wrong. Although the DLI offers extensive resources on the process, sometimes a personal touch is necessary to ensure no mistakes are made.
We understand how filing benefits claims, on top of running your business, can be confusing and complicated. Osterbauer Law Firm welcomes any inquiries regarding filing a workers’ compensation claim in Minnesota.
Call us today at 612-334-3434 to get a free, non-obligatory consultation. Let us help you help your workers receive the benefits they deserve.
