The current trend in the construction industry involves the acquisition of specialized laborers and contractors to perform the various tasks required to complete each aspect of a given project. General contractors obtain the services of subcontractors as a common business practice to help construction projects become completed more efficiently. Often, these subcontractors are more capable of performing the specialized work, and in many ways, the construction industry is a subcontractor-driven industry.

The addition of subcontractors to a construction project brings additional workers hired by each subcontractor. In the event a subcontractor's employee is injured in the performance of the work at the construction site, a question arises of who may be held responsible for payment of workers' compensation benefits for those injuries.

Statutory Employment

A "statutory employer" is an entity that may be held liable for workers' compensation benefits for injuries to a subcontractor's employees. O.C.G.A. § 34-9-8(a) specifically lists the entities that may be considered statutory employers under the Workers' Compensation Act and may liable for workers' compensation benefits to an injured employee. That list includes principle contractors, intermediate contractors, and subcontractors. After identification of the appropriate immediate and statutory employers that may be held liable, the next question is determining which party is responsible for payment of any workers' compensation benefits.

Under O.C.G.A. § 34-9-8(c), the immediate employer remains primarily liable for compensation, and the statutory employer is secondarily liable. In order to obtain workers' compensation benefits from the statutory employer, a claim for benefits must first be brought against the immediate employer. If the immediate employer is uninsured or insolvent, the injured employee may then seek benefits from the statutory employer. In those situations where the statutory employer is held liable, the Georgia Workers' Compensation Act allows the liable statutory employer to recoup their losses "from any person who, independently of this Code section, would have been liable to pay compensation to the injured employee or from any intermediate contractor." O.C.G.A. § 34-9-8(b). Although there is an avenue for recovery for the statutory employer to recoup its losses, it may be impossible to recoup any losses from an insolvent immediate employer.

Employer/Employee Relationship Requirement

The Workers' Compensation Act requires most employers with three or more employees to carry valid workers' compensation insurance. Too often, one or more subcontractor fails to obtain and carry workers' compensation insurance. Even if a subcontractor does not have three or more employees and does not obtain workers' compensation insurance, the general contractor can be held liable for workers' compensation benefits as a statutory employer. In those circumstances, the general contractor assumes liability for workers' compensation coverage for the subcontractor's employees injured on a general contractor's project.

The polarity of that is O.C.G.A § 34-9-8 will only apply if the injured individual is an employee of his actual employer. While it has been determined that O.C.G.A. § 34-9-8(c) allows an employee to recover workers' compensation benefits from the statutory employer if he is unable to recover those benefits from his direct employer, the injured individual cannot recover those benefits if he is not an actual employee. Thus, an injured individual will be unable to recover benefits from the statutory employer if he was working for his direct employer as an independent contractor.

Statutory Employer Tort Immunity

The Georgia Workers' Compensation Act allows for medical treatment and lost wages to an injured employee without the need to prove fault of the employer (who may not be at fault at all). As a result, the injured employee gives up the right to sue his immediate employer and all other statutory employers for the injuries sustained on the job.

The obligation to pay workers' compensation benefits provides immunity from tort claims arising from the same accident to all entities upward in the contractual chain between the principal contractor and the immediate employer. With that said, immunity does not extend to employees of the principal contractor. Immunity protection to a statutory employer is prompted by the statutory employer's potential liability for workers' compensation benefits even if the statutory employer (i.e. principal contractor) does not ultimately have to pay any benefits in connection with the workers' compensation claim.

Third-Party Property Owner Liability

A property owner is not ordinarily a "statutory employer" under the Workers' Compensation Act. However, an owner or an entity in control of the premises where an employee is injured may be subject to workers' compensation liability as a statutory employer, "in the isolated situation where the party also serves as a contractor for yet another entity and hires another contractor to perform the work on the premises." Creeden v. Fuentes, 296 Ga.App. 98(1), 673 S.E.2d 611 (2009) (citation and punctuation omitted). In other words, an owner or entity in control of property may be subject to statutory employer liability if that entity also functions as a contractor for another entity and hires a subcontractor to perform work on the premises. The corollary of this is that where the owner is potentially liable as a statutory employer, the owner is also entitled to tort immunity due to the exclusive remedy doctrine.

Practical Considerations for General Contractors

The Georgia Workers' Compensation Act provisions regarding contractor-subcontractor relationships are designed to create a safety net for any injured worker to assure benefits will be paid by someone. General contractors are responsible for providing workers' compensation coverage to their own employees, but they may also have additional exposure in instances where their subcontractors have not obtained coverage for the subcontractor's employees. For a general contractor (i.e. statutory employer) to avoid being held financially responsible for another entity's employees, it is essential that the general contractor protect itself by requiring every lower tier contractor to carry workers' compensation coverage. In addition to statutory requirements, workers' compensation coverage can also be contractually required. This verification process often fails through the life of a construction project as numerous subcontractors come and go. However, the cost to upstream contractors in the event of a workplace injury can be substantial.

The Nation Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) maintains an active list that allows for verification of workers' compensation coverage for any company. General contractors are often not aware of the service provided by NCCI that could greatly limit their exposure in workers' compensation matters. Aside from regularly checking the NCCI database, general contractors could ensure compliance by contractual language requiring for verification of coverage by providing valid certificates of insurance at each subcontractor pay request. Certificates of insurance should not be consider absolute verification of valid insurance, given that inaccurate or fraudulent certificates of insurance may be prepared. Checking directly with the insurance carrier to confirm proper insurance is held is always the best practice.

Work injuries in the construction industry are more common than in any other industry. Requiring all subcontractors down the contractual chain to obtain valid workers' compensation insurance will prevent situations in which the general contract will be forced to accept responsibility for claims and reduce the number of instances in which they will tap their own insurance for coverage. In theory, a contractual requirement for subcontractors to present workers' compensation coverage seems simple. In complex construction projects with numerous subcontractors and an ever approaching deadline, the need for skilled and efficient labor sometimes overrides a thorough examination of a subcontractor's insurance coverage. Unfortunately, that mistake can become extremely costly as general contractors will assume liability for workers' compensation benefits for injuries to an employee it did not directly hire.

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