Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features the release of a new report from Milliman and commissioned by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) that found North Carolina employers may be paying higher workers comp claim costs in years with more hot weather.
The report found a link between extreme heat exposure in four major industries (agriculture, construction/erection, cartage/trucking, and commercial enterprises) and avoidable costs to employers – a positive correlation between the annual number of hours with a heat index above 90°F and workers’ comp claim costs for lost wages. The strongest relationships between heat and workers comp costs for lost wages were in the cartage/trucking industry (such as package delivery and ambulance service workers) and commercial enterprises (such as warehouse workers and gas station attendants). The positive correlation between hot years and the severity of lost wage claims was notably strong in cartage/trucking.