Beginning this week, business owners in the construction services industry who do not hold an active license issued by the Board for Licensing Contractors can apply for an exemption from the requirement to cover themselves with workers’ compensation insurance. Beginning February 1, business owners who hold an active license issued by the Board for Licensing Contractors may apply for the exemption.
These exemptions are permitted under last year’s enactment of Public Chapter 1149 by the General Assembly.
Applications may be completed and submitted online at http://tnbear.tn.gov/wc/ or at the Tennessee Department of State Business Services Division’s customer service counter on the 6th Floor of the William R. Snodgrass Tower, 312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue in downtown Nashville.
To qualify for an exemption, an applicant must be an individual who is either a sole proprietor, officer of a corporation, member of a limited liability company with at least a 30 percent ownership interest or a partner in a partnership with at least a 30 percent ownership interest. In addition, an applicant may qualify for the exemption if the applicant is an owner in a family-owned business regardless of the percentage of ownership. A maximum number of three individuals associated with each business may qualify for the exemption. Sole proprietors can have only one qualifying applicant and the qualifying applicant must own 100 percent of the business. Furthermore, applicants that do not have an active contractor’s license issued by the Board for Licensing Contractors must also apply for a construction services provider registration when submitting the workers’ compensation exemption application.
“Our goal is to provide a simple registration process to allow business owners to register for the exemption,” Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. “Throughout the planning process, we have worked with other state agencies to ensure that the application and submission process is user-friendly.”
Qualifying applications filed online will allow for virtually real-time exemption at the time of submission as confirmation of exemption will be automatic. Exemption applications filed by mail or in person may take longer to process manually, but not more than 10 business days from the date the application is received in the Business Services Division office.
For questions about the application process, please call (615) 741-2286 or e-mail WorkersComp.ExemptionRegistry@tn.gov