Ohio’s private employers covered for workplace injuries by the state’s Bureau of Workers’ Compensation are in line for another rate cut, the seventh straight reduction.
The 7% reduction proposed to the agency’s board of directors last week would reduce premiums by $67 million for the fiscal year that starts July 1. The board will act on the proposal at its meeting on Feb. 23.
The proposed 7% cut is a statewide average. The actual change a company would receive depends on multiple factors including claim history, the nature of the business, payroll and participation in bureau programs.
Only once since 2011 have rates for private employers gone up and that was in 2017 when rates rose 1.9%.
The bureau also handed out dividend checks that helped businesses and government bodies offset premium costs in the past leading up to a $5 billion dividend that was handed out in 2020 to help them manage through the pandemic.
Over the years, the bureau has credited declining workers’ comp rates to fewer workplace injuries and less than expected medical inflation coupled with the bureau’s return on its investments.