§1746.  Workers' compensation insurance

A.  If the PEO service agreement provides for the procurement and maintenance of state or federal workers' compensation insurance, covering the liability of the client, the insurance covering such liability shall be placed with an insurer authorized to transact business in this state and such coverage shall include a plan of multiple coordinated policies in place.  Each plan shall comply with the following requirements:

(1)  A separate policy shall be issued to each client, covering the client's compensation liability with respect to each of its employees, whether or not covered by the PEO services agreement.

(2)  Payroll for all of the client's employees shall be assigned to the policy in the name of the client.

(3)  All policies shall be written by an admitted insurer and shall be coordinated and have a common expiration date.

(4)  Each individual client policy shall apply the rates, rules, classifications, rating plans, and audit procedures approved by the commissioner of insurance as provided in R.S. 22:1451, et seq.  The experience modification factor shall be calculated using the experience of the client, which factor shall survive termination of the PEO contract, and shall, upon termination of the professional services agreement, be reported separately in accordance with the applicable rating plan.

(5)  The PEO may collect from its clients and remit to the carrier premiums on its own and its clients' policies.

B.(1)  If coverage for workers' compensation liability is secured, both the PEO and the client shall maintain appropriate evidence of workers' compensation insurance.

(2)  Each PEO shall comply with the insurer's reasonable and lawful requests for information pertinent to the insurance, including the name and federal identification number of each client, classification codes, payrolls, information, loss data, and jurisdictions with exposure, and shall submit appropriate audits of its operations.  Failure of a PEO to comply with the provisions of this Paragraph, after a reasonable opportunity to cure any deficiency, shall be grounds for cancellation of the workers' compensation insurance policy.

C.  Nothing in this Section shall limit the PEO's and client's ability to specify in the PEO services agreement how liability for workers' compensation benefits to employees covered by the PEO services agreement will be apportioned between them.  Each shall have the benefit of the exclusive remedy defense under R.S. 23:1032.  No PEO shall have the benefit of such exclusive remedy defense by virtue merely of its PEO status or relationship to its clients or to the covered employees in case a covered employee of one client of the PEO injures a covered employee or employee of another client of the same PEO; however, the PEO may maintain the exclusive remedy defense if it is otherwise available under law due to the relationship between the two clients, independent of their relationships with the PEO.

D.  Nothing in this Section shall prevent a client from securing a policy of workers' compensation insurance from an insurer authorized to transact business in this state which is outside of the PEO services agreement.

E.  Repealed by Acts 2011, No. 94, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2012.

Acts 2001, No. 1150, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2002; Acts 2007, No. 459, §4, eff. Jan. 1, 2008; Redesignated from R.S. 22:1210.56 by Acts 2008, No. 415, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2011, No. 94, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2012.