Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink has dispatched a number of Division of Workers' Compensation Bureau of Compliance investigators to help protect homeowners from unscrupulous contractors in the wake of a number of tornadoes that touched downed last February in the Panhandle. Sink sent 20 inspectors to Escambia County after the tornadoes destroyed more than 60 structures. Among other things, investigators handed out information covering the workers' compensation law and homeowners' responsibilities. For example, property owners could be held liable if a worker is injured on their properties and the contractor doesn't have coverage.

Investigators reminded homeowners that the bureau also has two online tracking systems so employers and contractors can check the legitimacy status of companies. The compliance stop-work order database lists each employer's name, the date the stop-work order was issued, the date it was lifted, and the type of compliance violation. The construction policy-tracking database provides information to contractors and other parties concerning the workers' compensation coverage status of subcontractors. The system allows employers, carriers, and state and municipal officials to submit a list of subcontractors; the parties are then automatically contacted if there is any change in the subcontractor's status. As of June 30, 2007, a total 5,600 database registrants are tracking nearly 26,000 subcontractors.