Sole proprietor
An individual who owns an unincorporated business alone; many states treat the owner differently from employees for workers' compensation, often with optional coverage.
A sole proprietor's personal workers' compensation status is a state-law question separate from whether the business must cover employees. Some states place the sole proprietor outside mandatory coverage but allow an election to be covered.
Pennsylvania lists sole proprietors among excluded owner categories, while Washington offers elective coverage for sole proprietors. Florida permits qualifying non-construction sole proprietors to file a Notice of Election of Coverage. Construction can change the analysis.
Where this definition comes from
Glossary entries are anchored to a state agency, statute, board, commission, or recognized workers' compensation authority rather than a generalized summary.
More terms
- Additional insured
- Agricultural/farm labor exclusion
- Assigned risk pool / residual market
- Casual employment
- CE-200 (New York)
- Certificate holder
- Certificate of election
- Certificate of insurance (COI)
- Civil penalty (uninsured employer)
- Class code
- Competitive state fund
- Construction vs non-construction classification