Florida Workers' Compensation for Electrical Contractors

Workers' compensation is the one insurance the license itself depends on: F.S. 489.510 makes proof of coverage under Chapter 440 (or a department exemption) a condition precedent to issuing or renewing a certificate or registration (see lesson fl-law-01). The Business exam's "Obtaining Insurance and Bonding" and "Personnel Management" questions draw on the statute the Contractors Manual reprints — Chapter 440. Learn the construction-industry rules, which are stricter than the general ones.

1. Who is covered — 440.02

• Construction industry = for-profit building, clearing, filling, excavation, or substantial improvement in the size or use of a structure or the appearance of land. A homeowner's own construction is not "construction" if the premises are not to be sold or leased within 1 year of commencement.
• Employment covers private employers with four or more employees — but in the construction industry, one or more employees. One employee on a jobsite means the contractor must carry coverage.
• Employee = anyone paid under a contract for hire, express or implied, lawful or unlawful, including minors and aliens. In construction the definition reaches further: every person a construction contractor pays as a subcontractor is the contractor's employee unless the sub has a valid exemption or its own coverage; an independent contractor working in the construction industry is an employee; and a sole proprietor or partner engaged in the construction industry is an employee. The four-of-six "independent contractor" test (separate business, FEIN, paid to a business, business bank account, free to work for others, paid per bid/task) and the seven-factor fallback apply only outside construction, and the person claiming independent status carries the burden of proof.
• Corporate officers (anyone holding an office in the filed charter or articles, and LLC members owning at least 10 percent) are employees unless they elect exemption.
• Employer = every person carrying on any employment; for a corporation, the people in actual control (president, officers with broad