On Friday morning, the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) Board of Directors approved the staff recommendation to lower private employer premiums by 7.1% in the upcoming policy year which begins July 1, 2021. This news is welcomed by Ohio employers because it means lower operating costs and highlights how the BWC believes the cost of future workers’ compensation claims will continue to go down.

The news also highlights how Ohio employees are safer at work than ever before. Year after year the number of lost time claims – injuries where the employee misses time from work – continue to fall. In fact, over the last 15 years the number of lost time claims has been reduced by nearly fifty percent. Likewise, the number of medical only claims – claims where the employee only needs medical care to recover from their injury – has also fallen dramatically since 2005.

As noted in my previous blog on the topic, this decision by the BWC is projected to save employers throughout Ohio a total of $71.5 million in fiscal year 2022.

At the Ohio Chamber we will continue our efforts by working with the BWC to advance the interests of our members who are seeking a workers’ compensation system that delivers stable rates and provides the opportunity to issue dividends when investment performance outpaces the projected costs of providing care to injured workers.