Columbus, OH – The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Board of Directors recently approved an average rate reduction of 1.6 percent for public employer taxing districts. The change will result in Ohio’s 3,900 cities, counties, townships, villages, schools and special districts paying an estimated $3.9 million less in premium in 2014. Combined with 5 percent rate reductions adopted in 2012 and 2013, BWC will be collecting a cumulative estimated $68.3 million less than if the 2011 rates had remained in place.
“We’re pleased to continue our trend of reducing rates and helping local governments keep workers’ compensation costs in check,” said BWC Administrator/CEO Steve Buehrer. “In addition to keeping average rates at their lowest point in 30 years, we’ve returned $128 million in rebates to local governments, and we’ve tripled to $15 million the amount of safety intervention grants, which are a popular way to stretch local dollars while improving worker safety.”
The decrease represents a reduction to the average of the collectible rates for public employer taxing districts. Actual premium changes for individual public entities will differ based on several factors including their manual classification (the exact type of entity they are), as well as their own recent claims history and program participation.
Buehrer also used the opportunity to encourage public employers to take full advantage of the bureau’s rate-savings and safety programs. Public employers have through the end of October to sign up for certain Destination: Excellence programs. Destination: Excellence is a bundle of programs that reward employers for keeping their workplace safe and getting injured workers healthy and back to work sooner.
He also noted that hundreds of public employers and thousands of public employees have benefited from safety programming through BWC’s Division of Safety & Hygiene. That includes the safety grants program, which provides three-to-one matching funds up to $40,000 for employers to purchase equipment that will substantially reduce or eliminate injuries and illnesses.
Source: Ohio BWC