The possibility of claims being filed under workers' compensation state laws is of deep concern to employers who might otherwise be eager to hire students. Payment of higher payroll taxes for unemployment insurance is another block to business involvement. Several states, however, are solving the problem in new and creative ways. In Maine, for example, a quasi-governmental group known as Maine Career Advantage serves as a broker between schools and businesses, taking care of all STW matters from student placement to acting as the employer of record for workers' compensation and other insurance. On a practical level, it relieves the burden of liability on employers.
Businesses pay a fee that covers students' stipends, tuition and insurance.
With the insurance money Maine Career Advantage purchases workers' compensation and general liability insurance that includes personal injury, fire damage and lesser medical expenses. There is one step educators must take before assuming that the Maine path will work in their state. Greg Voorheis, Vermont's STW grant manager, cautions educators to look closely at how their state defines the employer-employee relationship under workers' compensation laws. When states or localities name third-party employers of record to circumvent the workers' compensation problem for employers, they could unwittingly be adding to the employers risk and liability. Voorheis calls on his state's experience in warning about false assumptions.