Have you suffered an injury or illness at work in Alaska? If you have, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation. You need to tell your employer about your injury or illness and make sure that the correct procedure is followed when you file a workers’ compensation claim. Workers’ compensation normally covers what are called economic damages, i.e. medical expenses and a part of what is lost in earnings. Employment in Alaska According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2015 data, there were 327,000 employees in the state. The five main categories of employment in the order of the number of employees occupied were: Office and administrative support Food preparation and serving Sales assistants and related occupations Construction and extraction Transportation and moving of materials There were nearly 54,000 employees in the most numerous category, those involved in office jobs. The mean hourly earnings in Alaska in 2015 was $26.81 and the mean annual income was $55,760. Alaska Workers’ Compensation Board Guidelines for Employers The Alaska Workers’ Compensation Board has established a number of guidelines and requirements for all employers in Alaska. The basic requirement is that all employers who employ at least one employee must take out workers’ compensation insurance unless they fit into one of several exempt categories. Some of the main exemptions are listed below. Sole proprietors Partners in a partnership Executive officers in a non-profit organization Non-commercial cleaners Temporary or part time workers Taxi cab drivers if they have a contractual compensation arrangement already There are other categories that may be covered by the state’s own insurance for its employees. This includes high school students who are working on a work experience program, volunteer emergency medical technicians and individuals who are engaged in civil defense on part of the state. Employees who are injured while at work or suffer a work related illness will need to ensure that they submit a workers’ comp. claim within 2 years of the injury or 2 years from when the illness is detected. If the employee leaves it any later than that their claim may not be recognized. Other Workers’ Compensation Insurance Provisions in Alaska Because the law in Alaska requires nearly every employer to take out workers’ compensation insurance, there are fewer options than in other states. Generally, most employers will approach a private insurer to obtain sufficient insurance for their employees. Proof of this insurance must be submitted to the Alaska Division of Workers’ Compensation. There is no group pool in Alaska as there is in some other states. If the risk involved at work is relatively high and the employer finds it difficult to obtain insurance from a private carrier, they must approach the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) to obtain insurance through the Alaska Assigned Risk Pool. How a Workers Compensation Attorney Can Help You A workers’ compensation claim should be straightforward, but every claim is different and your particular claim may not be as straightforward as someone else’s. If you have difficulty understanding what you should do, or encounter any resistance from your employer or their insurance company, or are unsatisfied with the amount you have claimed you should contact an Alaska workers’ compensation attorney to help you process the claim.
