Workmans Comp

[darkstar]

How can i get my state to require , by law ,that ever tree service have workmans com insurance. ? At the present moment , as i understand from my insurance company , we are not required to carry WC unless we have five fulltime employees or more . I do not understand why, in my state, that any general contractor muct have WC ,but, as a tree service ; i must have five full time emplloyees to actually be enforced by law to have the insurance for the workers . DARK

 

[TCTREESERVICE]

Its not required! but you can get it, even if you only have 1 worker.

 

[spike-columbia]

W/c

What state are you in?

With less than five emp. an emplr is exemted from alot of laws.

However, try to get a contract with a GC without W/C - no way.

I would think you would use your W/C to help sell your jobs.

Are you selling on price or perceved value?
(if you are selling on price you will get beat every time)

Myself - I use a system of systematic selling.

In other words I qualify my clients - not the suspect(potential client) qualifing me.

Do you ever leave someone's residence man I've got this job!

Never to hear from them or earn unlimited access to their voice mail?

 

[trimmmed]

When I first read this 5 employee requirement I was doubtful. But after a little research it looks like that is the case. Far cry from NY I'll tell you. Everyone that works is covered by law here.

Back to Tenn, it says that if one of your guys gets hurt, proviso you have less than 5 workers and no comp ins, the worker that gets hurt gets nothing from the state. That injured worker sues you, the employer, for whatever his costs are.

It also states that all construction workers must be covered regardless of company size. Now why that would not apply to treework as well is nutz, imo.

You probably know all this already

If you have anything resembling an asset, get the insurance, whether they require it or not. Now let's say you are just starting out, and feel you don't have enough assets to worry about getting sued over, well you can be sued into the future via a judgement against you and have your wages garnisheed for a long time. Also, it doesn't have to be a catastrophic injury, for you to get crimped.

As to how to change the law, you gotta talk to some lawmakers/politicans, good luck with that

 

[darkstar]

Thank You Dave , Now how should i proceed to began to make changes in this law here in tennessee. Any reccomendation's very greatly appreciated . Its time for a change . The men in this state deserve better for the work they are providing . Dark

 

[trimmmed]

Thank You Dave , Now how should i proceed to began to make changes in this law here in tennessee. Any reccomendation's very greatly appreciated . Its time for a change . The men in this state deserve better for the work they are providing . Dark

Here's a link from your state that I was reading

http://www.state.tn.us/labor-wfd/lsques.html#laborlaws

How you should proceed?? First, before anyone will take you seriously, it has to be more than just you, that wants the change. So you need to enlist some help. For starters I would research out what the injury rate is for your line of work in your state, and try to sort out how many accidents have happened to guys that were not insured. People that got hurt and were left with the short end of the stick could be the start of a "group concern" Then from there you have to plead your case to the public, take names get signatures, petitions, etc, to make your cause big enough for some guy looking for votes, to take notice of.

I would imagine this to be a lengthy, involved process at best.

 

[trimmmed]

Also research the law and find out how this "# of 5" employees became a standard.

And find your reputable tree companies, that are paying w comp right now, they might generate a larger group for your cause the quickest.

 

[darkstar]

Tahnx

 

[Tom Dunlap]

How you should proceed?? First, before anyone will take you seriously, it has to be more than just you, that wants the change. So you need to enlist some help. For starters I would research out what the injury rate is for your line of work in your state, and try to sort out how many accidents have happened to guys that were not insured. People that got hurt and were left with the short end of the stick could be the start of a "group concern" Then from there you have to plead your case to the public, take names get signatures, petitions, etc, to make your cause big enough for some guy looking for votes, to take notice of.

This is very similar to how the ANSI Z133 got started.

Just a nit to pick...be sure to refer to your cause as Worker's Compensation since there are women in the workforce. I know that you know that. But you would be looking at your head on a platter if you used Workman's Comp in the wrong circles, and rightly so.

 

[Trinity Honoria]

How can i get my state to require , by law ,that ever tree service have workmans com insurance. ? DARK

ahhh something i know about... "lobbying"...

contact everyone you know who has had an on-the-job injury on a job that had no WC... start a letter writing campaign... a phone call campaign... in your state, not sure how effective email is... don't just contact the people in your district that represent you in your state senate & house... contact all of them...
follow the newspapers on when town meetings are held... introduce yourself to every state elected official who will stop for 30 seconds... have a 30 second ditty you can recite "Hi, i am Dark Star... i have a great concern for the employees of small businesses not being fairly treated since small businesses don't have to carry workman's comp." have some sob stories... carry a photo album around with pictures of the injured person in it... have the photo on the right page, an brief explanation of his/her injuries and what it has done to his/her family because there was no WC available since the employer wasn't required to carry it...

anyway, before i bore y'all to death-- Dark PM me if you want more pointers... it is a long process, but not insurmountable... just think of it as one of your rock climbs... it's all a matter of planning and approach to the rock...

 

[spike-columbia]

Nice points Tremmmed.

The real truth about alot of companies is the company is in their name and assets in wife's name.

Then the company stiff's all creditor's and or plaintiff's.

Then opens a new corp.

 

[darkstar]

8 oclock time to work ... thanx people ive had alot of sucess here in my city on smaller issues ... looks like this will be a hard on however ... ill make some baby steps today as i have a council man that owes me a favor .... dark

 

[darkstar]

Wow its amazing what one call can or cannot do . My state senator listened to the problem for the past 15 mins and agreed that this law needs changing .So he has assigned someone in labor law commision to began research as to why tree men are not required to have WC. Im actually amazed at the response. He was not aware of our states law on WC as it applies to tree service owners . He said that there had been some hard battles with other workmans comp law. Anyhow now im to wait for a phone call from the labor man .Perhaps one man can have an affect . Now i have to write letters to other tree service owners and get some consensus , but it will be interesting enough to hear our senates answer. DARK

 

[Tom Dunlap]

I tip my hat to you for taking up this cause. It amazes me that there is such an outdated law in effect.

I'm going to bet that you're going to tick off many small tree companies that don't carry WC. You might consider unlisting your phone number. In other states the issue of licensing has lead to some nasty repercussions. Slit tires, nasty phone calls, etc.

Fight the good fight!

 

[darkstar]

Well I have recieved several phone calls from the state labor dept. In a nut shell , I need to have a presentation of injuries in arborculter so that i can present it to several state represenitives . Hopfully one of them will introduce it and the law can be changed . It was incidental that the head of labor law actually knows me .After his phone call, It is very clear exactly the course of action to began with ,a simple presentation to a Rep. Ill get to work.Dark

 

[spacemule]

The country needs more folks like you, darkstar. Instead of complaining about a problem as you see it, you're working to fix the problem. You have my respect.