§938 — Title 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters | U.S. Code

Summary

Employers who are required to have workers’ compensation insurance but fail to get it can be charged with a crime. If convicted, the employer can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to one year, or both. If the employer is a corporation, the president, secretary, and treasurer can also be fined or jailed and must share responsibility with the company for any benefits owed to an employee hurt while the company lacked coverage. If an employer knowingly hides, sells, or gets rid of property after an employee is injured to avoid paying compensation, the same fine and jail penalties apply. Corporate officers can also face imprisonment and share the fines. Other legal responsibilities still apply.

Title 33, §938

Navigation and Navigable Waters — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Any employer required to secure the payment of compensation under this chapter who fails to secure such compensation shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment; and in any case where such employer is a corporation, the president, secretary, and treasurer thereof shall be also severally liable to such fine or imprisonment as herein provided for the failure of such corporation to secure the payment of compensation; and such president, secretary, and treasurer shall be severally personally liable, jointly with such corporation, for any compensation or other benefit which may accrue under the said chapter in respect to any injury which may occur to any employee of such corporation while it shall so fail to secure the payment of compensation as required by section 932 of this title.

(b)Any employer who knowingly transfers, sells, encumbers, assigns, or in any manner disposes of, conceals, secretes, or destroys any property belonging to such employer, after one of his employees has been injured within the purview of this chapter, and with intent to avoid the payment of compensation under this chapter to such employee or his dependents, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment; and in any case where such employer is a corporation, the president, secretary, and treasurer thereof shall be also severally liable to such penalty of imprisonment as well as jointly liable with such corporation for such fine.

(c)This section shall not affect any other liability of the employer under this chapter.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1984—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 98–426 substituted “$10,000” for “$1,000” wherever appearing. 1938—Act June 25, 1938, amended section generally, designating first sentence as subsec. (a) and inserting provisions respecting liability of corporate officers, adding subsec. (b), and designating second sentence as subsec. (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1984 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 98–426 effective Sept. 28, 1984, see section 28(e)(1) of Pub. L. 98–426, set out as a note under section 901 of this title.

§938 Penalties