Employers who do not obtain the required insurance face serious consequences including penalties of up to $1,000 per employee per week and an order prohibiting the employer from employing any person. In addition, the employer of any nonresidential construction, repair, or remodeling project that fails to provide workers’ compensation coverage for employees may be sued for damages by any losing bidder on the project. The losing bidder may be entitled to recover the amount of profit the winning contractor expected to make on the project, as well as costs and attorney fees. WORKER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry Workers’ Compensation Division generates a worker identification number – or WID number into its system that may be used instead of a Social Security Number (SSN) to identify claims. The WID number is person-specific: a unique two- to eight-character number is automatically generated within the Workers’ Compensation Division computer system when a claim-generating document is received (such as a claim petition where a First Report of Injury form has not been filed). It may be used rather than the SSN, with the date of the injury, to identify a specific case file. The WID number is optional for now and will be for some time. Contact the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry Workers’ Compensation Division for more information. WHAT INJURIES AND DISEASES ARE COVERED? Workers’ compensation insurance covers injuries and diseases that arise out of and in the course and scope of the employment. A work-related injury or disease is generally a physical condition that is caused, aggravated, precipitated or accelerated by the work or the work environment. Covered injuries can occur at the work place or outside the work place if the employee is on an assignment or is in transit between different work sites. Employees who experience a tragic event at work that results in post-traumatic stress disorder may also apply for worker’s compensation. New legislation (2018 Minn. Session Laws, Chapter 185) specifies that PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is presumed to be an occupational disease for certain occupations effective January 1, 2019. See the above statute for additional information. EMPLOYEES WHO ARE INJURED OUT OF STATE Employees who are hired in Minnesota by a Minnesota employer or generally work here and also work out of state are covered by the Minnesota workers’ compensation law. If a worker is employed in another state but is injured on the job in Minnesota, he or she can choose to be covered by the Minnesota workers’ compensation law or by the law in his or her resident state. A special provision for North Dakota employees limits the circumstances under which an employee hired in that state by a North Dakota employer could receive benefits under Minnesota law for injuries while temporarily working in Minnesota. Such an employee, who works in Minnesota fewer than 15 consecutive calendar days, or a maximum of 240 hours in a calendar year, will receive benefits under North Dakota law.
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