PLIT: Relief veterinarians don't need workers comp insurance coverage

SCHAUMBURG, ILL. — Clarifying earlier advice that practices need to carry workers' compensation insurance for relief veterinarians, the American Veterinary Medical Association's Professional Liability Insurance Trust (PLIT) says that's not the case. Or at least, it's not the case as long as the relief veterinarian is officially an independent contractor.

The original advice to carry workers' compensation insurance came in 2009 but created confusion among practitioners. PLIT's longtime broker, Hub International, reports in a recent newsletter that employers are not required to carry workers' compensation for independent contractors. Who qualifies as an independent contractor, however, can be even more confusing.

"While insurance companies make the determination of independent contractor versus employee when they do payroll audits, the riles and tests that are applied in making this decision are ultimately those of various states' departments of labor—not the insurers'," cautions Hub International.