In the state of Virginia, workers comp insurance laws require any employer with three or more employees (including full-time and part-time workers) to have workers comp insurance.

Workers may be subcontracted, seasonal, or temporary, yet are required to be covered if the threshold of three employees is met.

What is casual labor?

Casual labor of certain types may be excluded and, in those cases, workers comp insurance is not required.

Casual labor is occasional, irregular, and not part of an employer’s operations of normal business.

There is a specific exclusion for domestic workers, such as household help and babysitters.

An example of casual labor is a business hiring someone to clean the rain gutters on their building or to make a roof repair. However, if the business is a roofing company, that same worker would be required to have workers comp insurance.

Getting it Right

It is vital that business owners understand the definition of a causal worker and apply it appropriately, because just calling a worker "causal" is not sufficient. There are penalties and potential legal liability if a business gets this wrong.

If you are not sure, ask your agent at Everett Insurance, in Glen Allen, VA, for a professional opinion.

The courts in Virginia look at the frequency of the work done by a worker, whether the work performed is part of the business’s normal operations, and whether there is an ongoing relationship between the worker and the business as compared to a one-off job.

Moreover, a worker’s reclassification from a causal to a regular worker may happen if the extent of the work done justifies a change of classification. For example, if you hire a worker (not a company) once to trim your trees, that would be yard work considered casual work and not require workers comp insurance. However, if you own a landscaping company and that same worker trims all the trees you have for sale on a regular basis, that is a regular worker, even when performing similar tasks.

Consult with your agent at Everett Insurance, in Glen Allen, VA, for all your Virginia workers comp insurance needs.