Effective January 1, 2013, Texas employers who do not carry workers’ compensation insurance coverage have new requirements for reporting their non-coverage status to the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC), the state agency responsible for regulating workers’ compensation, and to their employees.

What this means for our clients: Most Texas dental and medical practices that do not carry workers’ compensation insurance are required to file DWC Form 005 between 2/1 and 4/30 each year. It is a very simple form and should not take long to complete. You can find a pdf copy at http://www.tdi.texas.gov/forms/dwc/dwc005nocov.pdf

Please note: the filing period start and end date in most cases will be 1/1/2013-12/31/2013 if you are not providing worker’s compensation insurance during 2013.

For more information about Texas Worker’s Compensation rules: http://www.tdi.texas.gov/wc/employer/employerresources.html