Failure to Keep Adequate Payroll Records Leaves Small Business Facing Ruinous Comp Premiums

A family-owned tree and lawn maintenance company is facing possible financial ruin in the wake of an Oregon Court of Appeals ruling this week that found it hadn't kept "verifiable" payroll records for its employees. Robert Cornett had tracked whether his employees were doing work with "boots on the ground," and when they were "above ground," since the employees who did work at above ground level were subject to a higher risk classification for calculating the R&R Tree and Landscape company's workers' compensation insurance premium. The Court of A...