Workers' comp for restaurant depots: what you need and what it costs
A restaurant depot with employees needs workers' comp, and its price is set by the class your store falls into, the payroll in that class, and your own claims record. Most depots are rated as a wholesale store or wholesale grocery, or as a retail store if most sales are to the public. The final bill is settled after the policy year, when an auditor checks actual payroll.
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- Your class follows where your sales come from: the business-versus-public split decides whether you are rated as wholesale or retail.
- You pay a price per $100 of payroll, with your insurer's own expenses added, then multiplied by your claims record once you are large enough to qualify.
- Delivery drivers, forklift operators and an owner who works the floor can each count, and each state treats them differently.
Which class code applies to a restaurant depot?
The rating system sorts every business into a numbered category, which insurers call a class code, and prices each per $100 of payroll. A depot is usually a wholesale store or wholesale grocery class, or a retail class if most of its sales are to the public.
Insurance that pays an injured employee's medical bills and lost wagesWorkers' Compensation Insurance that pays medical bills and lost wages when an employee is hurt or sick because of work. Insurers call it workers' compensation. more → is priced by class. The class that fits is a wholesale store: one that receives, ships or repacks goods. Where sales are mixed, the usual test is which share is over half of gross receipts, so the split between business buyers and the public is the first thing an agent asks. (Source: NCCI scope text, 2008, as reproduced by a trade site)
In most states using the national code list, that is 8018, wholesale store. Some states also list a food-specific wholesale grocery class, 8034, and a retail grocery class sits beside it for stores that sell mostly to the public. (Source: class-code lookup site) No published scope text says which of these a cash-and-carry depot belongs in, so your agent confirms the class with your state's rating bureau before you sign.
Some states run their own lists; see the state section below. Our workers' compensation coverage page explains what the policy pays for.
Who counts as an employee in my depot?
Almost everyone who works for you and takes your direction, whatever the paperwork says. An auditor adds back the people a busy warehouse leaves off.
- Floor staff and forklift operators: the people stocking, loading and running the registers are employees, and they are who the class is priced on.
- Delivery drivers: a driver who works only for you and takes your routes is not made a contractor by the paperwork. Treating an employee as a contractor is called misclassification. (Source: U.S. Department of Labor) Whether your own drivers are rated in the store class or in a separate drivers class is a question for the rating bureau.
- Owners who work the floor: covered or not by your state's owner rules, which differ by business type. See the state section.
- Seasonal and overtime help: extra hands before a holiday rush add payroll. Whether the overtime premium counts depends on the state.
About to make your first hire? Read what changes when you hire an employee.
What drives the rate?
Payroll in your class, the base price for that class, your insurer's own expenses, and, once you are big enough, a multiplier built from your own claims. The base price is not what you pay.
The base price is the rating bureau's average injury cost per $100 of payroll in your class; each insurer then adds its own expenses and profit. Larger accounts also get a multiplier built from your own claimsExperience Modification Factor (E-Mod) A number, with 1.0 as average, that raises or lowers your workers' compensation price based on your claims compared with similar businesses. Insurers call it the experience modification factor. more →, which insurers call the experience modifier: above 1.00 raises the premium, below 1.00 lowers it. Picture a depot with $500,000 of payroll in one class, a made-up base price of $2.40, and an insurer that adds 25% to it.
| What happens | Amount |
|---|---|
| Your payroll in this class | $500K |
| Divided into $100 units ($500K ÷ $100) | 5,000 |
| Rating bureau's base price per unit (made up, not what you pay) | $2.40 |
| Insurer adds its expenses and profit, a made-up 25% ($2.40 × 1.25) | $3.00 |
| Premium before any modifier (5,000 × $3.00) | $15K |
| Average claims modifier of 1.00: you pay ($15K × 1.00) | $15K |
| Modifier of 1.20, more claims than average: premium becomes ($15K × 1.20) | $18K |
| Modifier of 0.85, fewer claims than average: premium becomes ($15K × 0.85) | $12,750 |
Illustration only, with round numbers, a made-up base price and a made-up expense load. It is not a statement of what any policy pays; your own policy wording governs.
Forklifts and heavy lifting push a depot's claims, and claims move the modifier. Grocery and related product wholesalers had 4.2 recordable injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in 2024, against 2.3 across all private industry. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics) (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, all private industry) That wholesale figure is a stand-in; no published rate exists for a mixed wholesale-and-retail depot. At the year's end, the payroll review settles the real number; our premium audit guide lists what the auditor asks for, and the depot quote checklist covers the payroll split to have ready.
What changes by state?
Below is only the depot angle in each state; the full law is on our workers' comp laws by state pages, and who must carry coverage is in restaurant depot insurance requirements by state.
Kansas. The class is usually 8018, wholesale store. An owner who works the floor is outside the definition of an employee unless a valid election puts them in. (Source: Kansas Statutes 44-508) The full rule is on our Kansas workers' comp law page.
Missouri. A food-specific wholesale grocery class, 8034, is listed alongside 8018, so ask which your carrier uses. (Source: class-code lookup site) An owner who works the floor as a corporate officer or LLC member is counted as an employee; a sole proprietor or partner is not. (Source: Missouri Division of Workers' Compensation) The full rule is on our Missouri workers' comp law page.
New York. The state board's class list has both a wholesale grocery class (8034) and a wholesale store class (8018), a retail supermarket class (8033), and a separate drivers class (7380). (Source: New York Workers' Compensation Board) A state-licensed driver hauling goods in the state is presumed to be an employee. (Source: New York Workers' Compensation Board, coverage page) The full rule is on our New York workers' comp law page.
Pennsylvania. The state bureau uses its own numbers: 0911 for a grocery wholesaler selling cartons, cases and boxes, 0924 for a wholesale store of other goods, and 0917 for a retail grocery. Beer and bottled soft drinks go to a separate class, 821. (Source: Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau) The full rule is on our Pennsylvania workers' comp law page.
Massachusetts. The state runs its own rating bureau and its grocery-wholesale class could not be confirmed here, so have your agent check with the bureau. If you use delivery contractors, the state's wage-law contractor test does not decide workers' comp status. (Source: Camargo's Case, 2018) The full rule is on our Massachusetts workers' comp law page.
Louisiana. A business that contracts out work belonging to its own trade can, under a written contract or where the work is part of the contract, become the statutory employer of the contractor's workers. Hired haulers are the depot example. (Source: La. R.S. 23:1061) The full rule is on our Louisiana workers' comp law page.
Maryland. The class list includes a separate drivers class, 7380, next to the store class. (Source: class-code lookup site) Whether your delivery drivers go there or stay in the store class is for the bureau to confirm. The full rule is on our Maryland workers' comp law page.
Washington. Coverage comes from the state fund, priced per hour worked instead of per $100 of payroll. A wholesale store, including a wholesale-and-retail mix, is class 6407 at a 2026 base rate of about 88 cents an hour; a separate warehouse arm is 2102 at about $1.65, and cold storage 4404 at about $1.62. (Source: Washington L&I) These are base rates before experience rating. The full rule is on our Washington workers' comp law page.
Common questions about workers' comp for restaurant depots
No. The package that bundles your liability and property coverage does not include workers' comp. It is a separate policy, often with a different insurer, with its own renewal and audit.
No. Workers' comp covers your employees. An injured shopper's claim goes to your liability coverage, which is designed to pay the injured person's covered costs. Check your own policy wording and ask your agent.
Sometimes. Some states list a separate drivers class, and whether a depot's own drivers go there or stay in the store class is for your state's rating bureau to confirm. Ask your agent to get that answer in writing before the policy starts.
Check your depot's workers' comp class and payroll
Send us your payroll by job and the class on your current policy, and we'll tell you whether it matches how your depot actually runs.