A bill is being proposed to the Colorado legislature which would provide a safety net to injured workers whose employers did not have workers’ compensation insurance.

House Bill 1119, which would be dubbed the “Colorado Uninsured Employer Act”, would establish a fund that paid for claims of workers whose employers did not have comp insurance. The fund would be supported by penalties paid by employers that failed to carry workers’ compensation. By law, Colorado requires employers to have this kind of insurance.

A board would establish criteria for adjusting claims, minimum and maximum rates, benefit payouts and rules adoption. The board would also create procedures to collect money from employers to support the fund. The bill has support on both sides of the aisle.

A sponsor of the bill, Representative Tracy Kraft-Tharp, said that the bill would help with two problems currently facing the state’s system. Workers who are injured on the job will not have to face another blow if it turns out their employer does not have coverage.

“It will fix an unintended consequence in our laws by allowing individualized responses to small businesses to ensure they are providing workers comp as required,” she said.

The Colorado Springs Gazette