2023 Alaska Statutes › Title 23. Labor and Workers' Compensation › Chapter 30. Alaska Workers' Compensation Act › Article 2. Duties of Employer. › Sec. 23.30.045. Employer's liability for compensation.

(a) An employer is liable for and shall secure the payment to employees of the compensation payable under AS 23.30.041, 23.30.050, 23.30.095, 23.30.145, and 23.30.180 - 23.30.215. If the employer is a subcontractor and fails to secure the payment of compensation to its employees, the contractor is liable for and shall secure the payment of the compensation to employees of the subcontractor. If the employer is a contractor and fails to secure the payment of compensation to its employees or the employees of a subcontractor, the project owner is liable for and shall secure the payment of the compensation to employees of the contractor and employees of a subcontractor, as applicable.
(b) Compensation is payable irrespective of fault as a cause for the injury.
(c) For a person eligible for vocational rehabilitation service under this chapter or AS 23.15.080 who is placed with an employer for service at the request of the rehabilitation administrator or division of vocational rehabilitation to provide on the job training, work readiness, work therapy experience, or work sampling, the liability set out in (a) of this section applies to the state rather than to the employer. However, an employer may elect to assume the liabilities in (a) of this section.
(d) A contract may not be awarded by the state or a home rule or other political subdivision of the state unless the person to whom the contract is to be awarded has submitted to the contracting agency proof, furnished by the insurance carrier, of current coverage by workers' compensation insurance from an insurance company or association authorized to transact the business of workers' compensation insurance in this state or proof, furnished by the board, of a current certificate of self-insurance from the board. The person to whom the contract is awarded shall keep the workers' compensation insurance policy in effect during the life of the contract with the state or political subdivision. If the state or the political subdivision of the state fails to obtain proof of coverage or self-insurance or to protect itself under (e) of this section, and an employee of the contractor is injured during the term of the contract, the state or the political subdivision is liable for workers' compensation to the employee if the employee is unable to recover from the employer because of the employer's lack of financial assets. The state or the political subdivision is not liable, however, to the employee for workers' compensation if the employee can recover from the employer under (a) and (b) of this section.
(e) When a contracting agency of the state or a political subdivision receives notice that the workers' compensation insurance policy of an employer to whom the agency has awarded a contract has been cancelled due to nonpayment of a premium, without being replaced by a comparable policy, the agency may either terminate the contract with the employer or continue the premium payments on behalf of the employer in order to keep the policy in force during the life of the agency's contract. If the agency chooses to keep the policy in force, it may deduct its payments from the contract price or bring an action against the employer to recover the amount of the payments. When the contracting agency receives notice that the board has revoked a certificate of self-insurance held by a person to whom a contract has been awarded, the agency may terminate the contract. This subsection does not limit the causes of action or remedies that the state or political subdivision may have against the employer.
(f) In this section,
(1) “contractor” means a person who undertakes by contract performance of certain work for another but does not include a vendor whose primary business is the sale or leasing of tools, equipment, other goods, or property;
(2) “project owner” means a person who, in the course of the person's business, engages the services of a contractor and who enjoys the beneficial use of the work;
(3) “subcontractor” means a person to whom a contractor sublets all or part of the initial undertaking.