While Worker’s compensation is actually provided by the law, there are still others who try to defy these state laws. The workers try to get by inducing unlawful acts just to claim compensation. Others argue that it’s because of the troubled times, but whatever the reasons behind, it is still not right for them to fool their employers. Meanwhile, there are also times when the employer tries fraudulent acts to avoid paying for worker’s compensation. Here is some of the fraud in worker’s compensation debugged.
In the United States alone, according to its Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, tens of billions of dollars in false claims and unpaid premiums are stolen in the U.S. every year.
1. I Got Injured… Here, At Work!
Workers may have gotten injured away from work, but to be able to claim for compensation, they say they were hurt on the job. This will prompt their employers to cover the medical bills.
2. It Really Does Hurt!
This can happen when a worker has a minor job injury, but makes it appear like it is so much more than that, in order to collect more workers compensation and be able to stay away from work longer. This is one of those lazy worker’s tactics to avoid working longer hours while being paid an ample amount of money.
3. I’m Hurt… Or At Least Try To Act Like It.
There are workers who actually fabricate an injury which never even took place. Because of this, they try to claim it for workers compensation benefits. Not only do they earn money from it, they also save time to be able to do things that aren’t even work-related.
4. I Have A New Injury From Work… Not Quite!
This can occur when a worker has an old injury which never healed. He can claim it as a recent work injury in order to get medical care covered. Also, by claiming it as a recent work injury, he may also get enough money which he can use for other things while not being hurt anyway.
5. It’s Taking Too Long!
This is the fraud when a worker is not required to work yet by pretending the disability is ongoing when in fact, he has been actually healed.
Meanwhile, here are the most common forms of workers compensation fraud by employers are:
6. No, He’s Paid Less Than That!
This is a form of Under-reporting payroll. This is done when an employer reports that workers are paid less than they actually so that they can lower their premiums.
7. Injured? Impossible! He’s Got Years Of Experience!
This could be a form of inflating experience wherein an employer claims that workers are more experienced than they actually are in order to make them seem less risky and therefore less expensive to cover.
What Compensation?
A form of evasion, this is when an employer fails to obtain workers compensation for their employees even if it is prescribed by law.
Author Bio
Jenifer is a Law Graduate working as a consultant offering professional services like Consultation on Labor Law, fair HR practises to big organization. She is quite inspired by Mitchell Sexner, leading Attorney for workers compensation in Illinois