Legislative Update: Tennessee Workers Compensation Law

4.1.10    By admin    Tags ,

Last month, I reported on a bill passed by the Tennessee legislature that temporarily suspends the requirement that independent contractors in the construction industry obtain workers’ compensation coverage on themselves. The requirement had been in effect for less than a month before being suspended due to its “unintended” financial consequences on small construction contractors. Now, lawmakers are considering another bill, one that would amend the requirement permanently. See SB 3591 by Ketron/HB 3163 by Curtiss, Pitts.

While the new bill stops short of removing the self-coverage requirement altogether, it does create a procedure for sole proprietors, partners, officers of corporations, and members of LLCs engaged in the construction industry to file for an exemption from coverage. The exemption would be subject to certain terms, conditions, and fees, and would be limited to three people on any commercial project and five people on any residential project. The bill also establishes a task force to study the misclassification of workers in the construction industry. Lawmakers sponsoring the bill, who say they worked with small contactors, sole proprietors, homebuilders, and even representatives of the large construction industry in drafting the bill, hope the proposed legislation will be a model for other states to follow.

Click here for a summary of the bill.


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