If you are looking for the Kansas workers’ comp exemption form, the first thing to check is whether you need one at all. Sole proprietors, partners, LLC members, and self-employed persons are already excluded from workers’ compensation coverage by statute and do not file anything to confirm it. The people who actually need to file are corporate officers who own at least 10% of the company’s stock and want to opt out of the coverage they otherwise receive by default. Those elections are submitted electronically through the Kansas Department of Labor’s OSCAR portal.1State of Kansas Department of Labor. Workers Compensation Division
Do You Even Need to File?
Kansas law treats business owners very differently depending on how the business is organized. Under K.S.A. 44-508, the definition of “worker” or “employee” explicitly excludes individual employers, limited liability company members, partners, and self-employed persons.2Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 44-508 – Definitions If you fall into one of those categories, you are not an employee under the workers’ compensation act. There is no exemption form to file because there is nothing to exempt yourself from.
Ownership percentage does not matter for these groups. A partner holding 5% and a partner holding 50% are treated the same way, and the same goes for LLC members at any level. The statute makes no percentage distinction.
Some entire businesses are also outside the act. Employers with total gross annual payroll of $20,000 or less (not counting wages paid to family members) are not required to carry coverage, and agricultural employers and qualified real estate independent contractors are excluded under the same provision.3Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 44-505 – Application of Act
Corporate officers are the group that typically needs to file. Kansas includes executive officers of corporations in the definition of “employee,” so they are covered by default and must take affirmative action if they want out.2Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 44-508 – Definitions
Who Can File an Election of Non-Coverage
Only corporate officers who own 10% or more of the corporation’s issued and outstanding stock are eligible to file an election of non-coverage.1State of Kansas Department of Labor. Workers Compensation Division If you are an officer with less than 10% ownership, you remain an employee for workers’ compensation purposes and your employer must carry coverage for you. The threshold is firm and there is no workaround.
The Department of Labor also accepts elections from volunteer directors, officers, or trustees of nonprofit organizations, and from employers with payrolls under $20,000 who want to opt into coverage for themselves or their volunteers.1State of Kansas Department of Labor. Workers Compensation Division Separately, sole proprietors, partners, and LLC members who want to voluntarily buy coverage for themselves can do so under K.S.A. 44-542a by securing a policy that specifically names them and having their insurance carrier file a written statement of election with the director.4Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 44-542a Those are opt-in elections, not exemptions, but they move through the same system.
How to File Through OSCAR
Kansas requires workers’ compensation elections to be submitted electronically through OSCAR (the Online System for Claims Administration Research/Regulation). The Department of Labor states that electronic submission is required by regulation.1State of Kansas Department of Labor. Workers Compensation Division Paper filing is available only as an alternative for pro se filers who are not represented by an attorney, mailed to the Division of Workers Compensation at 401 SW Topeka Blvd., Suite 2, Topeka, KS 66603-3105.5Kansas Department of Labor. Practice and Procedure Guide Kansas Department of Labor Division of Workers Compensation
Create an account at oscar.dol.ks.gov and the system will walk you through the submission. Have this information ready:
- Business legal name as it appears on your state registration filings
- Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)
- Social Security Number of the individual electing non-coverage
- Ownership percentage, which for corporate officers must be 10% or more of issued and outstanding stock
- Phone number and mailing address for the Division’s follow-up contact
The individual electing non-coverage must certify an understanding that they are giving up the right to medical benefits and disability payments through the company’s workers’ compensation policy if a workplace injury occurs. Save your confirmation. Your insurance carrier will likely want to see it, and contractors who hire your business may ask for proof.
What the Election Does and Doesn’t Do
A non-coverage election stays in effect until you take action to change it. There is no automatic expiration and no periodic renewal. For corporate officers, the election remains valid only as long as you continue to meet the 10% ownership threshold; if your stake drops below 10%, the exemption no longer applies and your employer must carry coverage for you.
If you previously opted into coverage under K.S.A. 44-542a, the election stays effective until you stop maintaining insurance, at which point a written withdrawal must be filed with the director.4Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 44-542a Converting an LLC to a corporation, bringing in new partners, or any other restructuring can shift who is and isn’t covered by default, so review your election status whenever the business changes shape.
Risks Before You Waive
Electing non-coverage means that if you are hurt on the job, you receive no wage-replacement benefits and no medical coverage through workers’ compensation. For a desk-based owner the risk may feel small. For someone in construction, manufacturing, or another physically demanding field, a single serious injury can produce medical bills that dwarf any premium savings.
Private health insurance is not a dependable backup. Many policies exclude injuries sustained performing work-related duties, especially when an employer carries workers’ compensation. Even when a private insurer pays initially, it may later pursue subrogation once the injury is identified as work-related, leaving you with the bill. Check your personal policy for a work-injury exclusion before you waive.
Workers’ compensation also replaces a portion of lost wages during recovery, which private health insurance does not. Owners who waive coverage should look at disability income insurance as a separate product. A broken leg that keeps you off your feet for three months is three months of no income without some other safety net.
Penalties for Skipping Required Coverage
Where small businesses get into trouble is assuming the owner’s own exemption extends to everyone on the payroll. It does not. If your business is required to carry workers’ compensation insurance and doesn’t, knowingly and intentionally failing to secure coverage is a Class A misdemeanor under K.S.A. 44-532. The director of the Division of Workers Compensation can also assess a civil penalty equal to twice the annual premium you would have paid, or $25,000, whichever is greater.6Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 44-532 – Subrogation of Insurer or Group-Funded Pool to Rights and Duties of Employer
A self-employed subcontractor who fails to secure coverage for themselves personally will not be fined under this provision. The penalties apply when the subcontractor fails to cover other employees they have hired.6Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 44-532 – Subrogation of Insurer or Group-Funded Pool to Rights and Duties of Employer Your own exemption protects you from coverage for yourself. It does not protect the business from the obligation to cover its workers.