Legal Definitions - statutory employer

A statutory employer is an employer who is responsible for providing workers' compensation benefits to an employee, even if the employee is not directly employed by them. This can happen when an employee is injured while working for a subcontractor or a temporary agency, and the subcontractor or agency does not have workers' compensation insurance.

John works for a construction company that has a contract with a general contractor to build a new office building. The general contractor hires a subcontractor to do the electrical work, and the subcontractor hires John to help with the wiring. While working on the job, John is injured and needs medical treatment. The subcontractor does not have workers' compensation insurance, so John's employer, the construction company, becomes his statutory employer and is responsible for providing him with workers' compensation benefits.

This example illustrates how a statutory employer can be held responsible for providing workers' compensation benefits to an employee who is injured while working for a subcontractor or temporary agency. Even though the employee is not directly employed by the statutory employer, they are still responsible for providing benefits because they are considered the employer under the law.