Can Georgia business owners exclude themselves from workers compensation?

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Quick answer: Up to five corporate officers or LLC members can file a Form WC-10 waiver to opt out of coverage on themselves, but they still count toward the three-employee threshold. Sole proprietors and partners are not counted by default and must elect coverage in writing to be included.

Yes, within limits. Up to five corporate officers or LLC members can file a Form WC-10, the Georgia waiver form, to opt out of workers compensation coverage on themselves personally. The waiver removes their own coverage only. It does not remove them from the business's employee count, and they still count toward Georgia's three-employee coverage threshold.

A concrete example shows the gap this creates. An LLC has two field employees and one member-owner who files a Form WC-10 to waive her own coverage because she carries a personal health plan that covers work injuries too. The business still has three people counting toward the threshold, so it still needs a workers compensation policy covering the two field employees, even though the owner herself has opted out. Full detail on how the headcount is calculated is in which workers count toward Georgia's 3-employee threshold.

Sole proprietors and partners are treated differently from corporate officers and LLC members. They are not counted by default under Georgia law, so there is nothing for them to waive by filing a WC-10. Instead, if a sole proprietor or partner wants to be included in the business's coverage, the law requires a written election to opt in, the reverse of the officer waiver process. A sole proprietor running a small contracting business with two employees, for instance, is not automatically covered by the business's policy and stays uncovered unless that written election is made.

The five-person cap on officer and member waivers matters for larger ownership groups. A business with six corporate officers who all want to waive personal coverage cannot waive all six under a single business entity structure; the cap applies regardless of how the ownership is otherwise divided. Background on why the underlying three-employee requirement exists at all is in is workers compensation required for a 3-employee business in Georgia.

Business owners weighing a WC-10 waiver against staying covered can have their specific ownership structure reviewed through a coverage review. General Georgia plan terms are on the Georgia workers compensation insurance page.