How to Recognize the Signs of Employer Massachusetts Workers Compensation Fraud

Most of the workers in Massachusetts are entitled to the protection of the workers’ compensation system. In the United States, all states have a workers’ compensation system in place, although each individual state administers its own plan.

In Massachusetts, the workers’ compensation system is administered by the Department of Industrial Accidents, or DIA. While there are many laws and regulations that pertain to the workers’ compensation system, most employers are legally required to provide workers’ compensation coverage that will cover a claim in the event a worker is injured on the job. Unfortunately, not all employers comply with the law.

If your employer is committing workers’ compensation fraud, you could have a serious problem if you are ever injured on the job. The following signs may indicate that your employer is not complying with the workers’ compensation laws in Massachusetts.

• You receive your pay in cash instead of by check or direct deposit.
• You do not receive a paycheck stub or any other proof that you actually worked for the employer.
• You are compensated through products, services or free rent instead of actual money.
• You are given a Form 1099 when you are not an independent contractor.
• The hours you worked are not reflected accurately on your paycheck stub.
• You are paid by piecework instead of by the hour when you are not an independent contractor.
• Your employer offers to pay your medical bills instead of giving you a claim form for work-related injury.
• Your employer gives you the run-around when you ask for the name of his workers’ compensation carrier or when you ask for a claims form.
• The hours you worked, or the rate of pay you earned, as reflected on your report from the IAD, do not match what you actually worked or earned.
• Other employees have had problems getting a workers’ compensation claim approved.
• Other employees have been denied unemployment coverage because the employer did not report the correct number of hours worked.
• There does not appear to be a uniform system for keeping track of payroll records.
• The company appears to be doing work for considerably less than other companies that do the same type of work.

While there are many factors that go into determining how much an employer must pay in workers’ compensation insurance premiums, the number of employees the company employs and the number of hours worked by the employees are important factors. For this reason, any evidence that points to your employer underreporting the number of employees it employs or the hours they work can point to workers’ compensation fraud.

Your employer is required to report on-the-job injuries to the IAD and to the workers’ compensation carrier. Your employer must also provide their workers’ compensation carrier information to you upon request if you have been injured on the job.

If you have been injured on the job in Massachusetts, contact a workers’ compensation attorney as soon as possible. If your employer is not complying with workers’ compensation regulations, your attorney will know how to proceed.

Even if your employer is in compliance with all the workers’ compensation laws and regulations, having the assistance of a Massachusetts workers’ compensation attorney will help streamline the process and ensure that you receive all the benefits to which you are entitled.

Contact the Massachusetts workplace injury lawyers at Kantrovitz & Associates, P.C., by calling 800-367-0871 or by using our online contact form.