Information For Employers

Employers Responsibilities

Employer’s Obligation to Carry Workers Compenstation Insurance

Employers are required by statute to carry Workers’ Compensation insurance if they employ:

• three or more employees regularly employed in the same business or establishment, or
• one or more employees employed in activities which involve the use or presence of radiation, or
• if providing agriculture or domestic services, 10 or more full‑time nonseasonal agricultural workers regularly employed by the employer

See N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 97-2(1), 97-2(3), 97-93

Employer's Duties When a Worker is Injured

An employer must immediately report to its Workers’ Compensation insurance carrier any injury or occupational disease, or allegation by an employee of an injury or occupational disease, sustained in the course of employment for which the attention of a physician is needed or actually sought.

If an injury or alleged injury causes the employee to be absent from work for more than one day, or the employee’s medical expenses are greater than $2000.00, the employer or carrier must file with the Industrial Commission a Form 19 “Employer’s Report of Employee’s Injury to the Industrial Commission” within five days of learning of the injury or allegation.

If a Form 19 is filed with the Industrial Commission, the employer or carrier must provide a copy of the Form 19 to the employee, together with a blank Form 18 “Notice of Accident to Employer and Claim of Employee” for use by the employee.

See Rule 104 of the Workers’ Compensation Rules of the North Carolina Industrial Commission

Employees That Have Been Injured At Work

The NC Industrial Commission provides the following instructions to employees that have been injured in the course of their jobs. In the event one of your employees becomes injured, please familiarize yourself with the following procedures and be ready to assist your employee(s).

Employees' First Steps

FIRST - Seek out appropriate medical treatment.

Your employer may have a health care provider on your work site and if consistent with your employer’s instructions present yourself to that health provider if appropriate.

If you do not have access to an on-site health provider, your employer may have instructed you to present yourself to a designated health care office in case of work related injuries. If appropriate to the seriousness of your injury, report to that facility.

If there is no employer onsite or designated off-site health care provider, seek medical care appropriate to your medical needs. Depending on your circumstances, appropriate health care may be obtained from your family doctor or a hospital emergency room.

Second

tell your health care provider that your injury is related to your work and the name of your employer. This information allows the health care provider to bill treatment as a workers’ compensation claim.

Third

As soon as possible, inform an appropriate manager of your employer or the owner of your company that you have experienced a work related accident. If you can personally report your injury, do so. If you are unable to report your injury because of your medical condition, have a family member, friend or health care provider notify your employer of the injury as soon as possible.

Fourth

as soon as practical after the accident, and within thirty days, give written notice to your employer. A simple written statement giving the date of the accident and a brief description of the injury is all that is necessary. If you cannot write the letter, have a friend or family member write it for you and send it to the employer. Keep a copy of the letter for your records.

Fifth

follow your physician’s instructions for medical treatment. The goal of the Workers’ Compensation System in North Carolina is to ensure that you get good health care to restore you as nearly as possible to the health and ability to work that you had prior to your injury.

Following these five simple steps will ensure that your injury is properly reported, you receive appropriate health care quickly and that your employer can initiate workers’ compensation medical benefits.