After suffering a workplace accident, most people in Nebraska likely find comfort in the assumption of automatic coverage for their expenses through their employers’ workers’ compensation plans. It is for this reason that so many come to us here at Dowd & Corrigan, LLC devasted from hearing from their employers that such benefits may not be available to them.
The first response to such a claim may be to assert that the failure of one’s employer to offer such coverage is a regulatory failure on its part. Yet is that truly the case? There are exceptions to Nebraska’s workers’ compensation requirements; knowing what those are should go a long way in guiding one’s actions in such a situation.
Employer exceptions to Nebraska’s workers’ compensation law
According to the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court, the following common employee types do not automatically qualify for workers’ compensation benefits:
- Federal employees
- Railroad employees
- Independent contractors
- Volunteer workers
In addition, employers are not obligated to carry coverage for select agricultural workers and household domestic workers. Self-employed workers, sole proprietors, and partners or workers in a limited liability company may elect to exempt themselves from coverage under the state’s workers’ compensation law.
Exemptions for executive officers
Along with traditional employees and business owners, certain executive officers are not covered under Nebraska’s workers’ compensation law due to the state not considering them to be employees. These include executives of nonprofit corporations who receive less than $1000 annually in compensation for their services. Additionally, executives of corporations in Nebraska who own less than 25% of those companies’ common stock are not viewed as traditional employees.
Should executive officers in either of these scenarios want coverage, they must arrange it through both their corporations’ secretaries and their respective workers’ compensation carriers.