Workers' comp for small New York crews

The one fact that decides everything

In New York, one employee is enough to require a policy. The state does not use a four-employee threshold the way many states do, and it counts part-time, seasonal, family and even unpaid helpers as employees.

Owners are the opposite case. A sole proprietor, partner or LLC member is not an employee, so the law leaves you off the policy unless you ask to be included. The catches, and there are several, start on the who-needs page.

If you are the only worker and have no employees, you are likely exempt. Proving that exemption to a permit office is its own paperwork, and doing it wrong is expensive.

Whether you need a policy at all

Two questions decide it: who works under your direction, and what your business structure is.

Who needs coverage in New York sets out the employee test, the structure rules and the corporate wrinkle that catches two-officer companies. When an owner can stay off the policy covers the exemption itself, and the construction catch that overrides it.

How the rules land on each trade

The law is one statute, but it lands differently by trade. A household hiring a cleaner has a threshold an electrical contractor could never dream of.

Electrical crews face the construction presumption and general contractors who demand certificates. Landscaping crews meet the power-mower rule that turns casual yard work into covered work. Food trucks hit permit proof on every renewal. Salon owners split employees from booth renters. Cleaning businesses sit closest to the household exemption and mostly miss it.

What a policy costs, and how you are billed

Premium is a rate times payroll, per hundred dollars. The rate comes from a classification code the rating board assigns to your line of business, not to each worker.

The cost breakdown covers the formula, the extras on every bill, and pay-as-you-go billing that fits a crew whose payroll swings with the season.

Getting covered, and proving it on demand

Three routes exist: a private carrier, the State Insurance Fund, or self-insurance, which a small crew will not qualify for.

The getting-covered guide walks the purchase. The proof guide covers the certificates a license or permit office will demand, and the CE-200 that proves you have no employees. Subcontractors and 1099 helpers explains when someone else's missing policy becomes your payroll at audit.

When someone gets hurt

The clock starts the moment a worker reports an injury. There is a reporting deadline measured in days, a form the Board wants, and a penalty for filing late.

The injury guide gives the sequence, the minor-injury exception, and the wage-continuation move that protects your money if a claim follows.

The business behind the policy

Your structure changes who must be covered, so it is worth settling before the first hire. The formation services comparison prices the $200 New York filing against the services that file it for you.

Do I need coverage at all?

• Who needs workers' comp in New York? — New York's coverage test for small businesses: one employee is enough, who counts as one, which structures are exempt, and the corporate rule.
• When a New York owner can stay off the policy — Sole proprietors, partners and LLC members are not employees in New York, so the law excludes them unless they elect in; construction gets stricter.

How does it land on my trade?

• Workers' comp for a small New York electrical crew — Electrical work is construction under New York workers' comp law, with an employee presumption and certificates general contractors demand.
• Workers' comp for New York landscaping crews — New York's landscaping coverage rules: the power-mower trigger in casual yard work, the regularly-scheduled-chores rule, and what a seasonal crew pays.
• Workers' comp for a New York food truck crew — When a New York food truck needs workers' comp: who counts at the window, the proof permits demand, and seasonal payroll billing.
• Workers' comp for salon employees and booth renters — A New York salon must cover employees from the first stylist; booth renters are outside the policy only if they meet the state contractor test.
• Workers' comp for a small New York cleaning crew — New York cleaning businesses need coverage from the first helper; the household 40-hour rule is not yours, and a missing policy risks a stop-work order.

What does a policy cost?

• What workers' comp costs a small New York crew — How a New York workers' comp premium is built: the classification rate, the payroll basis, the flat charges, the audit, and the credits a crew can reach.

Getting covered, and proving it

• Getting workers' comp coverage in New York — The steps to buy New York workers' comp as a small crew: who counts, where to buy, the payroll basis, the certificates, and the audit at year end.
• Proving workers' comp coverage to a permit office — Which paper a New York permit or license office accepts: the C-105.2 certificate, the CE-200 exemption, and the ACORD trap.
• Subcontractors and 1099 helpers on your policy — When a New York business inherits a subcontractor's workers' comp: the certificates to collect, the Fair Play presumptions, and the audit.

When someone gets hurt

• What to do when a crew member is hurt on the job — The New York injury sequence: authorized treatment, the minor-injury line, the C-2F deadline, and the wage move that protects your money.

The business behind the policy

• LLC formation services for New York crews — Formation services for a New York LLC, priced against the $200 state filing and the publication requirement, with what renews after year one.

Questions