State seeks to beef up worker comp enforcement

The state Department of Labor wants to begin retroactively fining employers who are not keeping current with their workers’ compensation insurance premiums.

Currently workers that don’t fulfill their with workers’ comp payments are fined starting the day state inspectors discover that such coverage has lapsed, explained Rep. Will Infantine, R-Manchester, who has submitted a bill on the department’s behalf.

“There are employers who are abusing the system,” Infantine told NHBR Daily. “They wait until they are caught before they start paying in. Then they let it lapse and wait until DOL catches them again, so they hardly have to pay any fines. Meanwhile the workers go for months without coverage.”

This bill will allow the state to start fining employees from the day the coverage lapsed. — BOB SANDERS