1. (a) In addition to the posted notice required by subsection (e) of this section, covered and non-covered employers must notify their employees of coverage status, in writing. This additional notice:

   1. (1) shall be provided at the time an employee is hired, meaning when the employee is required by federal law to complete both a W-4 form and an I-9 form or when a break in service has occurred and the employee is required by federal law to complete a W-4 form on the first day the employee reports back to duty;
   2. (2) shall be provided at the time the employer notifies the insurance carrier that the employer is dropping coverage if there will be a period during which the employees will not be covered;
   3. (3) shall be provided at the time an employer obtains coverage, as necessary to allow the employee to elect to retain common law rights;
   4. (4) must include the text required in the posted notice; and
   5. (5) if the employer is covered by workers' compensation insurance, or becomes covered, whether by commercial insurance or by becoming a certified self-insurer, must include the following statement: "You may elect to retain your common law right of action if, no later than five days after you begin employment or within five days after receiving written notice from the employer that the employer has obtained coverage, you notify your employer in writing that you wish to retain your common law right to recover damages for personal injury. If you elect to retain your common law right of action, you cannot obtain workers' compensation income or medical benefits if you are injured."

2. (b) Notices required to be posted by this rule shall be posted:

   1. (1) by the non-subscribing employer as provided in subsection (c) of this section;
   2. (2) by the employer who is opting out of workers' compensation, at the time the employer notifies the carrier of the cancellation;
   3. (3) by the employer or certified self-insurer who elects to cancel their policy or withdraw from self-insurance, at the time the insurance carrier is notified of the cancellation or the commission is notified of the withdrawal, unless a new policy will maintain continuous coverage in which case the employees will be notified at the time the new policy takes effect;
   4. (4) by the employer who becomes covered either by an insurance policy or by certified self-insurance, at the time coverage or certification takes effect; and
   5. (5) by the employer whose workers' compensation policy is cancelled by the insurance carrier, at the time the cancellation becomes effective if no new policy is obtained.
3. (c) Notices posted or provided on and after the effective date of this rule shall contain the specific text required by this rule. Notices posted prior to the effective date of this rule, in compliance with prior commission rules will not need to be replaced with the text required by this rule. However, any time the information regarding coverage status, insurance carrier, safety hotline number, or third party administrator changes, or upon notification by the commission, the notice shall be replaced with the text required by this rule.
4. (d) An employer who recruits an employee in Texas to perform services outside of Texas, actually hires outside of Texas, and has notices of coverage posted conspicuously at the place of hire and at the business location where the employee will perform services, is not required to provide the additional notice required in subsection (a) of this section to the employee.

5. (e) Covered and non-covered employers must post notices in the workplace to inform employees about workers' compensation issues as required by this rule. These notices must be posted in the personnel office, if the employer has a personnel office, and in the workplace where each employee is likely to see the notice on a regular basis. The notices shall be printed with a title in at least 30-point bold type, subject in at least 20-point bold type, and text in at least 19-point normal type, and shall include English, Spanish, and any other language common to the employer's employee population. The text for the notices shall be the text provided by the commission on the sample notice without any additional words or changes.

   1. (1) Employers insured through a commercial insurance company must post the following notice.
   2. (2) Employers who become certified self-insurers must post the following notice.
   3. (3) Employers who elect not to be covered by workers' compensation, or who cancel or terminate coverage must post the following notice.
6. (f) Failure to post or to provide notice as required in this rule is a violation of the Act and commission rules and the violator may be subject to administrative penalties.

Source Note:The provisions of this §110.101 adopted to be effective January 1, 1994, 18 TexReg 9195.