Worker’s Compensation in Texas is a state-regulated insurance program for employers. This coverage is offered to employees who are injured at work. The insurance also extends to employees dealing with work-related diseases or illnesses. It even protects participating employers from a civil lawsuit by injured workers. The employer and aggrieved employee reach an agreement that protects both from lawsuits, but wounded workers must receive some form of financial restitution or medical coverage.

Worker’s Compensation in Texas is not mandatory for all employers. In other words, all employers do not have to carry Worker’s Compensation, but they must have some form of insurance coverage and benefits for injured workers. For WC in Texas, the injured employee must file a claim with the employer or company he or she works for. The employer usually mandates that injured employers see company doctors before benefits are paid out. This is to protect the employer from false claims and unnecessary legal entanglements.

How much are Workers’ Compensation Benefits in Texas?

In Texas, the weekly benefit amount is 70% of the average weekly wage before the injury occurred. This, of course, depends on how much the injured employee was earning on a weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly basis. This only determines the exact financial amount that will be paid out, but it is 70%. The injured party will also receive benefits that will cover his or her medical costs, expenses, emotional trauma, stress, and related factors. Again, the guidelines and rules within Worker’s Compensation or another plan the employer offers will be the deciding factor.

The compensation also covers financial woes due to job loss. This includes past and future wages, as well as reimbursement for medical expenses that are incurred. The injured employee may also claim additional costs for physical rehabilitation due to injuries sustained. Texas employers even offer a form of fatality insurance with benefits paid out to surviving family members. If the employee passes away due to injuries sustained at work, his or her spouse and dependents will receive the compensation. Similarly, a person that covers funeral costs and expenses may also be reimbursed for the finances assessed and spent.

What limits are there in Texas Workers’ Compensation?

As with any form of medical or health insurance, there are limits on coverage. For example, emotional duress, anxiety, and stress are normally not covered in these plans. While they are undoubtedly related to physical injuries, they are not considered payable damages. Still, there have been cases in Texas in which injured employees did collect for emotional damages due to slips and fall at the workplace. However, these cases had employees that did not agree with the form of coverage offered to them by employers.

These employees hired attorneys and filed lawsuits against negligent employers. With Worker’s Compensation in Texas, this is not permitted since the employer and injured employee agree to keep all legal claims or matters out of their agreement. These are some of the essentials of state-mandated employer/employee insurance plans in Texas. There is more information available on the web for both company owners and employees that want to learn more about compensation for on-the-job injuries.

It has taken years of blood and sweat to reach your current position: A fast-growing e-commerce outfit that’s poised to become the “Next Big Thing.” Or so the local press has claimed — while you appreciate just how far you’ve come, you know that there’s still a long way to go before that happens. It’s for this reason that you’re always scouting opportunities for upward mobility. And it is this constant pursuit that has you now considering outsourcing your SEO efforts to a consultant.

It’s About Time

Most small business owners are acutely shy of outsourcing key operations — and you too probably are. You know the benefits that a proper SEO campaign stands to bring (improved visibility, more traffic, a better user experience, etc). But you’re not quite sure if you need to partner with a consultant just yet. What’s the incentive in outsourcing an initiative you could very well run in-house?

Well, this would be a high time to embrace a new approach. Let’s see why hiring a Dallas SEO expert could be the best decision you’ve ever made:

• Knowledge and tools: SEO requires expertise in multiple disciplines; keyword research, competitor analysis, coding and content marketing et al. Running your campaign in-house would mean hiring a bunch of professionals who’re well-versed in all these areas (or, worse, gambling on your abilities). And it’s not just the want of expertise you need to worry about; your efforts could also be sabotaged by the lack of tools. Why not just partner with someone who’s well-equipped on both sides? A good consultant will have all the manpower and tools needed to get your campaign in gear.
• Keep up with trends: Do you know how fast SEO evolves? Some search engines are known to update their algorithms hourly. Keeping up with trends on your own would mean abandoning everything else just to stay on the lookout — and even that might not be enough. Why not rely on someone who’s already used to the lightning pace?
• Save time and money: Hiring an agency doesn’t exactly guarantee you of a speedy turnaround. But you can bet that it’ll take less time for your campaign to bear fruit than if you were running it in-house. Speaking of which, outsourcing will free up man-hours that you could put into other more critical tasks. And the fees charged will be lower than what you’d pay for the resources highlighted earlier.
• Additional services: Your agency will be more than happy to provide any extra services you might need besides optimization –analytics, keyword position tracking, website maintenance and such — at a discounted rate or no additional charge in some cases.
• Assurance: Once again, you should never fall for any promises hinged on a given time-frame as far as SEO goes. But there’s one guarantee that a Dallas consultant will offer you; that your campaign will be implemented strictly with white-hat techniques. This eliminates the risk of your website getting blacklisted for malpractice.

In a Nutshell

It’s understandable that you want to stay in control of your operations. But there’re things that are best handled by a specialist, and SEO is one of them. Just do your homework before hiring an expert; check that they have a good track record in following industry best practices. Also make sure they can fully cater for all your SEO needs.