Employees gain workers’ comp insurance in 2005

Employees at 362 businesses that were not complying with state laws that require the insurance now are protected. Last year, 148 employers came into compliance with the law.

Nixon’s office also collected more than $755,000 in penalties this year from employers that were not complying with the law, topping the $557,000 collected by Nixon for noncompliance in 2004.

One such case resulted in a guilty plea entered by South-Western AG Marketing Inc. in Barry County. The business employed between 90 and 133 employees without workers’ compensation insurance.

South-Western was ordered to pay a $65,000 penalty to the workers’ compensation fund and to reimburse the state for any payments awarded to its workers for injuries received while the company was uninsured.