Construction Subcontractors
New Maine Workers' Compensation Law
Effective January, 2010
Click here to download Workers Compensation Predetermination Application
Maine has a new law with regard to standards governing independent contractors who perform construction work. The changes that have an impact on you are summarized as follows:
Any person you use to perform construction work on a construction site is considered your employee. Your workers' compensation insurance carrier may charge a premium for that employee UNLESS:
- That person has his/her own workers' compensation coverage in place and they have given you proof of coverage by a workers' compensation certificate of insurance, OR
- That person meets all 12 criteria listed on the attached sheet. If they do, they must complete the Application for Predetermination of Construction Subcontractor to Establish a Rebuttable Presumption and submit it to the Workers' Compensation Board for approval. To avoid premium charges for these contractors you must have a copy of the subcontractor’s approved Predetermination form as of the date the contractor begins work for you.
If you want your subcontractors to be treated as independents for purposes of workers' compensation insurance coverage, you must submit to your workers' compensation insurance carrier a copy of the subcontractor’s approved Predetermination form.
If you had Predetermination forms approved prior to January 1, 2010, you must submit NEW Applications for Determination of Independent Contractor Status forms to the Workers' Compensation Board for approval. Failure to submit this documentation may result in additional premium charges.
Stiff fines, loss of state-issued licenses and/or imprisonment may be instituted against anyone who intentionally misclassifies employees or submits fraudulent or intentionally misleading predetermination forms that lead to the misclassification of employees or mishandled claims. The new law encourages insurers to report such employers to the State.
This is a brief summary of the new law and is not all-inclusive. A copy of the new law and its changes can be found at: http://www.maine.gov/wcb/ConstructionSubcontractor.html.
*Due to changes in the law, any predetermination certificate issued prior to January 1, 2010 is no longer valid and any contractor who wishes to continue to be considered an independent contractor will need to apply for and obtain a new certificate. Predetermination certificates need to be obtained for each subcontractor and hiring agent.