{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-85a-85a-126","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 85A, § 85A-126","heading":"Agreement between general contractor and subcontractor to","body":"provide workers' compensation coverage.\n\nA. For the purposes of this section:\n\n1. “General contractor” means a person or entity who undertakes\n\nto procure the performance of work or a service, either separately\n\nor through the use of subcontractors. General contractor shall\n\ninclude, but is not limited to, a principal contractor, an original\n\ncontractor, a prime contractor or other analogous term, and one who\n\nowns, occupies, possesses, or otherwise controls a premises who\n\nenters into contracts with subcontractors for all or part of the\n\nwork being performed on the premises;\n\n2. “Provides workers’ compensation insurance coverage” means to\n\nmake available workers’ compensation insurance coverage. Workers’\n\ncompensation insurance coverage may be provided, even if it does not\n\nultimately cover an incident, so long as it was made available to\n\nthe subcontractor. The following does not constitute acceptable or\n\nrelevant evidence to suggest that workers’ compensation insurance\n\nmade available to a subcontractor was not provided to the\n\nsubcontractor:\n\na. timing discrepancies between the issuance of workers’\n\ncompensation insurance policies and contracts between\n\nand among general contractors and subcontractors,\n\nb. factual discrepancies in secondary documentation such\n\nas certificates of insurance or enrollment forms,\n\nc. a general contractor’s lack of notice of election of\n\ncoverage, or\n\nd. payment of premiums, or lack thereof, by the general\n\ncontractor; and\n\n3. “Subcontractor” means a person or entity with whom the\n\ngeneral contractor has entered into a contract to perform all or\n\npart of the work or services that the general contractor has\n\nundertaken to perform, and includes a person or entity with whom a\n\nsubcontractor contracts to perform the work.\n\nB. A general contractor and a subcontractor may enter into a\n\nwritten agreement under which the general contractor provides\n\nworkers’ compensation insurance coverage to the subcontractor and\n\nemployees of the subcontractor.\n\nC. If a general contractor has workers’ compensation insurance\n\nto protect the general contractor’s employees and if, in the course\n\nand scope of the general contractor’s business, the general\n\ncontractor enters into a contract with a subcontractor who does not\n\nhave employees, the general contractor shall be treated as the\n\nemployer of the subcontractor for the purposes of the Administrative\n\nWorkers’ Compensation Act and may enter into an agreement for the\n\ndeduction of premiums paid in accordance with subsection D of this\n\nsection. A premise owner who acts as a general contractor shall be\n\ntreated as the employer of all subcontractors for the purposes of\n\nthe Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act and may enter into an\n\nagreement for the deduction of premiums paid in accordance with\n\nsubsection D of this section.\n\nD. If a general contractor elects to provide coverage, then the\n\nactual premiums based on payroll that are paid or incurred by the\n\ngeneral contractor for the coverage may be deducted from the\n\ncontract price or other amount owed to the subcontractor by the\n\ngeneral contractor.\n\nE. An agreement under this section makes the general contractor\n\nthe employer of the subcontractor and the subcontractor’s employees\n\nonly for the purposes of this title. A subcontractor or\n\nsubcontractor’s employee’s rights and remedies against the general\n\ncontractor or any principal, officer, director, employee,\n\nstockholder, partner, or prime contractor of the general contractor\n\nshall be subject to the limitations pursuant to Section 5 of Title\n\n85A of the Oklahoma Statutes. The limitations in this subsection\n\nshall only apply to claims against the general contractor. To the\n\nextent not otherwise precluded by Section 5 of Title 85A of the\n\nOklahoma Statutes, a subcontractor or subcontractor’s employee\n\nretains the right to recover from another subcontractor or\n\nsubcontractor’s employee.\nt to the limitations pursuant to Section 5 of Title\n\n85A of the Oklahoma Statutes. The limitations in this subsection\n\nshall only apply to claims against the general contractor. To the\n\nextent not otherwise precluded by Section 5 of Title 85A of the\n\nOklahoma Statutes, a subcontractor or subcontractor’s employee\n\nretains the right to recover from another subcontractor or\n\nsubcontractor’s employee.\n\nF. Notwithstanding subsection C of this section, a person who\n\nperforms work or provides a service for an oil or gas well operator\n\nand who is an independent contractor that has no employees shall be\n\ntreated in the same manner as an independent contractor with\n\nemployees and is not entitled to coverage under the general\n\ncontractor’s workers’ compensation insurance policy unless the\n\nindependent subcontractor and the general contractor enter into an\n\nagreement under this section.","path":["OK Code","Title 85A"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os85A.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"5923e65924445e34c750003fb368fab454e1e762f6c94b8f7cbb4dad57265196","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-85a-85a-125","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-85a-85a-13"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}