Four-Four Inc. offers pipeline service work from its Farmington yard and operates the three Circle S retail outlets in Farmington and Bloomfield. The company employs more than 60 workers, according to The [image-nocss] Daily Times.
The WCA Employer Compliance Bureau opened a case file as a result of a referral to the WCA. The Compliance Bureau discovered that Four-Four Inc. had allowed their workers' compensation insurance to lapse due to nonpayment of premium in September 2009. Since 2007, this was the third time the business has been out of compliance.
The lack of coverage places numerous employees at five different business locations at risk, said WCA.
"We give every break we can, but once they hit a point where they're just fragrantly in violation, we'll shut them down," WCA spokesperson Van Cravens told The Daily Times. "We don't like shutting down a business. On the other hand, if we're going to protect the workers and the employer, they need to have insurance. That's why the law is there."
The registered owner of the business, Bernie Strunk, did not return calls by the newspaper for comment. Phone numbers are disconnected at three of the company's five properties in San Juan County.
"All New Mexico's workers' need to be properly protected in the event of a workplace injury," said Glenn R. Smith, director of the WCA in a press statement. "A primary regulatory mission of the WCA is to ensure that mandatory insurance requirements are in place. We want to make sure workers and employers throughout New Mexico have the protection that is required and afforded by the law."
Due to the serious and repeated nature of the offense, the WCA moved to close the business until it obtains and proves it has the proper workers' compensation insurance coverage for its employees.
WCA Employer Compliance Officers review the status of thousands of New Mexico businesses a year to see if they are required to, and have coverage. Most businesses that are discovered to be noncompliant, once they are contacted by a Compliance Officer, obtain appropriate coverage and provide confirmation within a reasonable period of time. Some don't. The WCA General Counsel's Office files for compliance hearings, and the majority of businesses scheduled for a hearing obtain coverage prior to the court date. If the business does not, the WCA will lock its doors.
"All they have to do is get their policy back in effect and provide proof of insurance, and we give them back their keys," Cravens told the paper. "And we wish they would do that."
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