Small Business Coverage and Peace of Mind
Almost everyone knows how to spell Mississippi, but not everyone knows that the state’s name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi which means “Great River.” Many people also don’t realize the substantial impact that small businesses have on the state’s economy.
When it comes to economic well-being, small businesses with fewer than 500 employees are at the heart of Mississippi’s workforce. The state’s 48,000 small businesses employ around 447,000 people. The largest number of Mississippi’s small businesses fall into the health care and social assistance category. This is followed by retail trade, accommodations and food services, and manufacturing. Other business sectors that are also present in the state are involved in forestry, mining, and information services.1
What are the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Insurance Requirements?
State law requires that all employers with five or more employees are required to provide workers’ compensation insurance coverage. For those with fewer than five employees, coverage is not mandatory but may be obtained voluntarily. Farm and domestic labor is not covered under the law and employees of non-profit fraternal, charitable, and religious organizations are also exempt.2
How Does Workers’ Compensation Work in Mississippi?
Injured workers in the Magnolia State are provided two basic benefits by workers’ compensation: medical benefits required to treat work-related injuries and wage-loss benefits if injuries result in time missed from work.3 In 2012, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed a law which now allows employers to order drug tests when an employee is injured at work. The new law disallows benefits when the cause was related to the use of alcohol, illegal drugs, or improper prescription drug use.
Get Workers’ Compensation Insurance in Mississippi
EMPLOYERS is America’s Workers’ Comp Specialist®, and provides Mississippi-based businesses with workers’ compensation insurance that is cost-effective and affordable. The value added services that EMPLOYERS offers its policyholders include Loss Control Services, Anti-Fraud Programs, and Managed Care Services.
Mississippi Workmans’ Comp Coverage You Need
Interested in learning more about how EMPLOYERS can help your Mississippi business? Request a quote for workers’ compensation insurance from EMPLOYERS!
Thousands of small businesses trust EMPLOYERS for providing cost-effective workers’ compensation insurance for over a century. With our competitive pricing, financial stability and dependability, claims service, safety training and risk advisory programs, EMPLOYERS remains focused on keeping America’s small businesses not only working, but working safely.
1. “Small Business Profile, Mississippi,” SBA Office of Advocacy, January 2012, www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/ms11_0.pdf.
2. “2013 Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Facts,” Mississippi Worker’s Compensation Commission, 2013, mwcc.ms.gov/pdf/WCFacts2013.pdf
3. “2013 Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Facts,” Mississippi Worker’s Compensation Commission, 2013, mwcc.ms.gov/pdf/WCFacts2013.pdf