OOIDA Call to Action - Colorado Members
February 24, 2006

Heads up, Colorado truckers! There is some stuff going on in the state capitol that you should be aware of. Your costs to operate may increase!

A recent court decision has called into question whether Colorado-based independent contractors in trucking are exempt from the state's requirement that they purchase workers' compensation coverage. This is a pretty big deal and a pretty expensive one, too.

In all instances, workers' compensation coverage is very expensive for those in trucking occupations - usually two to three times more expensive than occupational accident coverage that many truckers buy instead of workers' comp. By way of comparison, workers' comp coverage would cost on average $4,500 per year for an individual owner-operator. This compares to less than $2,000 per year for the most expensive $2 million occupational accident plan offered through OOIDA.

While cost is a big factor, it's not the only factor. Workers' comp is an employer-based coverage. Owner-operators don't have employers. Workers' comp only works well in employer/employee based companies.

The Colorado Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs committee will be holding a hearing on this issue and a bill designed to correct the problem on Wednesday, March 1, at 1:30 p.m.

Please contact your senator, explain that as an owner-operator a requirement that forces you to buy workers' comp coverage would be a tremendous waste of your money and a serious detriment to your small business.

Ask your senator to support Senate Bill 191.

You can find your state lawmakers and get their contact information by going to www.vote-smart.org and inputting your 9-digit ZIP. If you don't know the full 9-digit ZIP, the site does provide a link to assist with getting the last 4 digits.

You can also call the OOIDA Membership Department at 1-800-444-5791 and they can look up the information for you.