Clerical, Professional & Sales
Class Code 8871: Clerical Telecommuter Employees NOC — Workers' Comp Insurance
Applies to clerical employees who perform their duties from a home office rather than the employer's business location, doing the same kind of paperwork, phone, and computer work covered under standard clerical class 8810. It exists because home-based work has a different exposure profile than an on-site office.
- Risk level:
- low
What code 8871 covers
Class 8871 covers employees whose clerical duties are performed at home, provided the work is limited to clerical tasks and the home is the primary work location for that role. It mirrors 8810 in the type of work covered — data entry, bookkeeping, customer service by phone or computer — but recognizes that a remote worker's job risk is tied to a home office setup rather than the employer's premises. Not every NCCI state recognizes 8871 as a distinct code; some continue to use 8810 for qualifying remote clerical staff, which is one reason state confirmation matters before quoting. As with 8810, any duties outside clerical work, or regular travel to client sites, take that payroll out of the telecommuter classification.
Included operations
- Data entry, bookkeeping, and payroll processing done from home
- Customer service by phone, email, or chat
- Scheduling, correspondence, and administrative support
- Virtual assistant and back-office work performed remotely
Businesses that typically carry 8871
- Remote customer service teams
- Virtual bookkeeping and accounting support
- Home-based scheduling and dispatch coordinators
- Distributed administrative and HR support staff
- Small businesses with a fully remote back office
- Nonprofit and association back offices
- Accounting and bookkeeping firms
- Technology and software company offices
Common misclassifications
Code 8810
Employers in states that don't distinguish remote clerical work sometimes default to 8810 when 8871 would apply, or vice versa.
Code 8742
A remote employee who also makes outbound sales calls with a commission component can drift toward outside-sales duties without the classification being updated.
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What drives the cost of code 8871
- Total annual payroll for employees assigned to this classification
- Experience modification factor based on claims history
- State-specific base rates and loss costs filed for this class code
- Claims frequency and severity trends for the business
- Safety programs, training, and workplace controls in place
- Payroll mix across multiple classifications at the same location
What underwriters look for
- Percentage of time employees spend on outside sales, deliveries, or non-desk duties
- Whether any employees perform duties that belong under a different, higher-hazard class code
- Total clerical payroll versus payroll in other classifications at the same location
- Prior claims history and current experience modification factor
State differences
This entry uses standard NCCI class code phraseology, which applies in most NCCI-governed states. Pennsylvania (PCRB), Delaware (DCRB), California (WCIRB), New Jersey (NJCRIB), Michigan, New York (NYCIRB), and Massachusetts maintain their own classification manuals, and code numbers or phraseology can differ there. Our agency confirms the correct classification for your state before quoting.
Quote class code 8871.
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Class code 8871 questions
Is 8871 available in every state?
No. Some states recognize a separate telecommuter code and others continue to use the standard clerical code for qualifying remote staff. We confirm which applies in your state.
What if a remote employee visits the office once a week?
Occasional office visits generally don't disqualify the classification, but regular field or client-site work would need to be evaluated separately.
Does a home office need to meet specific safety standards?
There's no formal inspection requirement tied to the code itself, but insurers may ask general questions about the home workspace as part of underwriting.
Can a business have employees under both 8810 and 8871?
Yes — it's common for a business to have some staff working on-site under 8810 and others working remotely under 8871.
Last reviewed · Reviewed by Provident Financial Group licensed agents