Public employers could see nearly a 10% reduction in their worker’s compensation rates next year, according to Business Insurance, the news and information resource for business executives.
The bureau, which provides worker’s compensation coverage for businesses to alleviate the costs paid to employees injured and often represented by worker’s compensation lawyers, recommended in August a 9% cut in rates next year. The proposed rate decrease would take effect Jan. 1 and benefit about 3,800 local governments, school districts and special districts in Ohio. The agency’s board of directors will vote on the proposal at its next meeting Sept. 24.
Rate Cuts Follow a Trend Spurred by Lower Claim Frequency
The move follows a 10.8% reduction in workers’ compensation rates for Ohio’s private employers that took place July 1 after being approved in February. That cut is expected to save employers $153 million per year and is part of a string of cuts that have dropped rates for private employers since 2011 by 21.4%. Lower expected claim frequency by worker’s compensation attorneys was one factor credited for the reduction, according to the Columbus Dispatch.