Workers Comp for Telecom & Fiber Crews.
A 2026 State-by-State Guide.

Carrier fiber construction primes (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Frontier, Brightspeed, Comcast Business, Spectrum Business, Cox Business) and hyperscaler data center GCs (DPR, Turner, Holder, Skanska) all run formal subcontractor pre-qualification. Workers’ comp is checked on every COI — and on grant-funded scopes (BEAD, ReConnect, state broadband), it’s audited far more aggressively than the GL policy is.

The most common rejections we see:

• No workers’ comp policy at all — contractor claims they don’t need it because they only use 1099 labor. Most primes will not accept this in 2026.
• Policy only covers home state — crew works across multiple states but policy isn’t endorsed for them. Common on small-account policies.
• Owner / officer exclusion attached — owner excluded themselves to save premium, but the COI shows that exclusion. Many primes reject this for principals working on the job.
• Wrong class code — contractor written under a low-rate office class (8810) when crews are actually doing OSP work (should be 7600 / 6325). Discovered at audit — back-premium owed, COI invalidated.
• Texas non-subscriber status — Texas allows businesses to opt out of workers’ comp; most hyperscaler GCs explicitly reject non-subscribers.

States set the minimum employee count that triggers mandatory workers’ comp. Below is the threshold for construction-class businesses (which is what telecom and fiber contractors are typically classified as) in the most active fiber-buildout states.

State	Mandatory at	Notes for Telecom / Fiber Contractors
California	1+ employee	Required even for one part-time employee. Owner-officers can elect out via formal exclusion. CSLB license verification ties to comp status.
Florida	1+ (construction) / 4+ (non-construction)	FL treats construction differently — one employee triggers required coverage for construction-class contractors. Sole proprietors must be covered by name or formally exempt.
Texas	Voluntary (no mandatory threshold)	Texas is the only state where comp is optional. Hyperscaler data center GCs and most major commercial primes require subscriber status anyway — non-subscribers face direct lawsuit exposure.
Arizona	1+ employee	Required for any employee including part-time. AZ ROC-licensed contractors are flagged at audit if comp lapses.
North Carolina	3+ employees	Threshold counts officers and members of an LLC. Construction class code 6325 for OSP fiber, 7600 for telecom.
South Carolina	4+ employees	Includes owners/officers for the threshold count. SC LLR enforces aggressively on construction.
Georgia	3+ employees	Owners and officers are counted toward the threshold. BEAD-funded scopes typically require comp regardless of employee count.
Tennessee	5+ (general) / 1+ (construction services)	Construction-class telecom and fiber contractors are at the 1+ threshold.
Michigan	1+ employee (most cases)	Required for one or more employees. Sole proprietors not required unless they elect in.
Pennsylvania	1+ employee	One of the strictest enforcement states. Construction misclassification penalties are severe.
Virginia	3+ employees	Subcontractors counted toward the threshold under VA’s statutory employer rule.
Ohio	1+ employee (state fund only)	Ohio is a monopolistic state — comp must be purchased through the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, not from a private carrier.
Washington	1+ employee (state fund only)	Monopolistic state — coverage through L&I, not private carriers.

Class codes determine your comp premium. The wrong code is the single most expensive insurance mistake telecom contractors make — either you overpay year after year, or you underpay and get hit with a big audit bill plus a clawback of every COI you issued under the wrong code.

Code	Description	Typical Telecom / Fiber Use
7600	Telecommunications Company — All Other Employees	Telecom and cable installer crews working primarily indoor / customer-premises. CPE install, equipment install, MDU drops.
7601	Telephone & Telegraph Companies — Drivers	Drivers attached to telecom field operations — sometimes split out from 7600.
7605	Burglar Alarm Installation, Service or Repair	Security / low voltage / structured cabling adjacent to telecom. State-dependent assignment.
6325	Conduit Construction — For Cables or Wires	OSP construction crews doing trenching, conduit, directional drilling for fiber. Higher rate than 7600.
5191	Office Machine Installation, Inspection, Adjustment or Repair	Sometimes used for indoor structured cabling installer crews in states with finer code splits.
5183	Plumbing & Drain — Underground	NOT typically used for fiber. Listed because it’s a common misclassification at audit.
8810	Clerical Office Employees	For your office staff only. NEVER for field crews. Auditors look for this exact misuse.

Most states let business owners exclude themselves from workers’ comp — saving premium on the owner’s payroll. But this creates a trap: if you exclude yourself, then work on a customer site as a principal and get hurt, neither your comp policy nor the GC’s policy will cover you. You become uninsured for your own injury.

Common scenarios where owner exclusion backfires:

• Owner-operator who excluded themselves to save $4,000/year, falls off a ladder pulling fiber, ends up with a $200,000 medical bill the personal health insurer disputes because it’s work-related.
• Two-person crew where both owners are excluded, one gets injured, the prime’s comp policy refuses to pick it up because the injured party wasn’t their employee.
• Prime contractor specifically requires all working principals to be included on the comp policy and rejects the COI when the exclusion is shown.

Beyond just having coverage, primes look for specific items on the COI:

• Workers’ Compensation Waiver of Subrogation in favor of the prime — WC 00 03 13 or state equivalent. Required on virtually every commercial subcontract.
• State of operation listed correctly on the COI. If you’re doing TX work but your COI only shows AZ comp, the COI gets rejected.
• Subscriber status in Texas. Non-subscribers get rejected by hyperscaler GCs even though TX law allows the opt-out.
• Policy expiration date covering the full contract period. Some primes won’t accept a COI that expires mid-project.
• No owner / officer exclusions on the COI if you (the owner) are physically on the job site.
• Correct class codes matching the work. Some primes spot-check this on grant-funded scopes.

• Pull your declarations page and confirm class codes match the work your crews actually do (7600 vs 6325 vs split)
• Confirm states of operation are listed correctly — one for each state where crews physically work
• Verify no owner-officer exclusions if any owner physically works in the field
• Confirm Waiver of Subrogation endorsement (WC 00 03 13 or state form) is on the policy and reflected on the COI

• Add state-by-state endorsements for each state of operation
• Set up state-fund coverage separately for Ohio, Washington, Wyoming, North Dakota (monopolistic states)
• Use a broker who routinely handles multi-state comp for telecom contractors — not a generalist

• Become a workers’ comp subscriber even though TX is voluntary — non-subscriber status is increasingly a deal-breaker for hyperscaler and major commercial primes
• Get the subscriber notice posted at your principal place of business and on job sites