• Nevada employers must provide their employees with workmans' comp coverage.residential construction 4 image by Jim Parkin from Fotolia.com
  
  Workmans' comp insurance assists employees that are injured on the job by providing them with a portion of their salary while they are unable to work. Nevada workmans' comp laws entitle injured employees to receive benefits such as medical treatment, vocational rehabilitation, lost-time compensation and permanent partial or total disability. The law also covers employers by protecting them against any additional damages claimed by injured employees that receive workmans' comp benefits.
  
  

Employer Workmans' Comp Coverage Laws

• The state of Nevada requires all employers with at least one employee to carry workmans' comp insurance, and sole proprietors may elect to obtain the coverage for themselves. Employers can purchase workmans' comp coverage from Nevada licensed private insurance carriers or can be certified as self-insured by the Division of Insurance. Exemptions to the mandatory workmans' comp laws include employees brought to Nevada on a temporary basis that already have coverage in another state or that are covered under private disability plans with equal or greater benefit payments. Exemptions also apply to casual employment where employees earn less than $500 or work for 20 days or less and employment is not in the course of business, occupation, profession or trade of the employer. The workmans' comp laws require that all Nevada employees in the construction trade be covered.
  
  

Employee Requirement Laws

• Nevada employees injured on the job must immediately inform their supervisors who will provide them with the appropriate paperwork to be filed. The maximum amount of coverage for employees is 66 and two-thirds percent of their average monthly wage. Nevada workmans' comp laws prevent employees from seeking treatment from their chosen physicians or therapists. Instead they must be evaluated by authorized medical providers who are members of the Panel of Treatment Physicians and Chiropractors. If the injury is serious, employees should seek emergency medical attention and follow the directions of the provider. Injured workers that reject light-duty offers to return to work risk having their temporary total disability benefits being discontinued. Nevada laws also require workman's comp coverage be provided to all employees, including unlawfully employed or illegal immigrants that are injured on the job.
  
  

Laws for Noncompliance

• Because the Nevada workmans' comp laws apply to all employers with employees, except for those that are exempt, any business found not in compliance is subject to penalties imposed by the Division of Industrial Relations and Worker's Comp Section. These employers will be charged an administrative fine of up to $15,000 and will pay any additional premium penalties deemed appropriate. Employers will also be held financially responsible for costs arising from any employee work-related injuries and may be forced to close their business until they obtain workmans' comp insurance.