News and Analysis
Coming soon: BWC Email Payment Notifications
June 1, 2018BWC has announced that it will soon offer employers the chance to sign up for email notifications that give them access to their monthly invoice as soon as it is available.
Employers will also earn a 1-percent Go-green rebate, up to $2,000, for enrolling to receive email notifications. The target date for the launch of email notifications is late June.
To receive the discount, BWC will require the employer to:
- Sign-in to their BWC e-account.
- Click Request eNotices and follow the instructions to enroll.
- Complete their payroll true-up online by the due date (Aug. 15, 2018, for private employers).
Note: If there is a balance due, the employer must pay it in full when submitting their payroll true-up. 5/31/2018
BWC Board Approves Historic Rebate
May 25, 2018The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) board of directors approved a proposed $1.5 billion rebate today at its meeting this week. The BWC will mail rebate checks to roughly 180,000 Ohio employers this summer.
The agency credits healthy investment income, fewer claims and prudent fiscal management.
A BWC spokesperson said, to receive the rebate, employers must pay any overdue premium amounts and submit outstanding payroll reports before June 8, and verify contact information so checks are mailed to the correct address. Employers can pay outstanding premium, submit payroll reports and verify demographic information by logging into their e-accounts.
The rebate checks will equal 85% of the premiums paid for the policy year that ended June 30, 2017.
The BWC reported that it earned an average 6.7% net return on its investments of the State Insurance Fund over the last five fiscal years, pushing the fund’s net position to $10.9 billion as of March 31 and driving the agency’s latest rebate initiative, the largest in 20 years. 5/24/2018
OMA Opposes Group Self Insurance Bill
May 18, 2018This week the OMA teamed up with business allies to oppose House Bill 459, a proposal that would enable groups of employers to be granted self-insured status under Ohio workers’ compensation laws.
The group submitted a letter of opposition to House Insurance Committee Chairman Tom Brinkman (R-Cincinnati), saying: “Our organizations are wary of group self-insurance structures. … During the Great Recession in 2008, the BWC and the self-insured community shared a significant concern that the Self-Insured Employers’ Guaranty Fund would not be adequate to cover current and future liabilities as companies went out of business and others were teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, and this included some of the strongest and most financially stable companies. Imagine the potential crisis with groups comprised of much smaller and financially weaker employers.”
The bill has had two committee hearings. 5/17/2018
When is Your Billion Back Check Coming?
May 18, 2018The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) expects to begin processing employer workers’ compensation premium rebates on June 27 for the policy year July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017.
The measure will have a final vote by the BWC board at its May 24 meeting.
The rebate will equal 85% of the annual premium paid in the 2016/17 policy year.
If approved, the BWC expects to mail checks by the end of July. However, group retrospective rated employers will use individual experience rated premium net of impact of their 12-month premium calculation and will receive their rebate checks in mid-October.
You’ll want to make sure you’re eligible to receive your share by paying any lapsed premium amounts and completing any outstanding true-up before June 8, 2018. Also review your demographic information held by the BWC to ensure your rebate check is mailed to the correct address.
OMA’s Brian Jackson can answer your questions. 5/15/2018
BWC Rolls Out New Website
May 18, 2018The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) this week unveiled its new website. Its stated goal was to provide more relevant, easy to navigate content.
The new site will meet suggested guidelines for accessibility. Examples include color schemes that improve readability and fewer PDFs, which interfere with software for the visually impaired. All pages will be available in Spanish.
This short video provides an overview of the new navigation. 5/15/2018
Next BWC Employer Webinar is May 24
May 18, 2018The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) is planning a 20-minute employer webinar on Thursday, May 24, at 11:30 a.m.
Topics include: estimated annual premium notices, rating, Destination: Excellence programs, Better You, Better Ohio! and the monthly safety tip.
Introverts: Register here to view the webinar from the comfort of your office. Extroverts: Register here to visit your local claims office and view the webinar with BWC staff. 5/15/2018
Say it Again: Safety First
May 18, 2018Use Better Safety Conversations, a new product from OSHA’s Safe + Sound Campaign, to improve the safety dialogue with workers in your organization. 5/15/2018
OSHA Enforcement of Parts of Beryllium Rule Begins May 11
May 11, 2018OMA Connections Partner, Jackson Lewis, reminds employers: “Employers must ensure they are in compliance with most of OSHA’s beryllium rule’s requirements for general-industry … by May 11, 2018.
“The rule (29 CFR 1910.1024, 29 CFR 1915.1024, and 29 CFR 1926.1124), promulgated in January 2017, sets a new, lower eight-hour permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 0.2 micrograms per cubic meter and a new short-term (15-minute) exposure limit (STEL) of 2.0 micrograms per cubic meter. …
“… Further, OSHA said the general-industry rule has been the topic of “extensive settlement talks” with several parties. Except for certain provisions requiring changing rooms and showers and some engineering controls, all aspects of the rule in general industry will be enforced beginning May 11, 2018. The changing rooms and showers provisions are effective on March 11, 2019, and requirements for engineering controls on March 10, 2020.”
Here is an OSHA page regarding the beryllium rules. 5/7/2018
BWC’s MCO Open Enrollment is Underway
May 4, 2018The open enrollment period for Ohio employers to select a managed care organization (MCO) to oversee medical treatment for workers injured on the job began Monday, April 30, and continues through Friday, May 25.
The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) offers open enrollment every two years for employers to select from a network of 13 MCOs that manage claim filings and medical care that injured workers need to recover and return to work.
No action is required of employers satisfied with their current MCO.
Open enrollment details are available in the MCO Selection Guide on BWC’s website. Visitors to the site can also find the MCO Report Card that summarizes each MCO’s performance.
OMA’s only endorsed MCO is Health Management Solutions, Inc. (HMS). HMS has achieved the highest ranking among MCOs in 2018 in an important measure the BWC calls Measurement of Disability, or MoD. This score represents an MCO’s efficacy in returning workers to duty in a safe and timely manner. The MoD rating measures effective case management. The MoD score (also called “Days Absent”) is displayed on page 3 of the BWC’s 2018 MCO Report Card.
MCO changes will be effective July 2. Questions? Contact OMA’s Brian Jackson. 4/26/2018
Report OSHA 300A Data by July 1
May 4, 2018According to OSHA, employers can now begin to electronically report their Calendar Year (CY) 2017 Form 300A data to OSHA.
All covered establishments must submit the information by July 1, 2018. (Employers can view their submitted CY 2016 Form 300A summary information, but they cannot edit or submit additional 2016 data on this website.) To review which establishments need to provide their 2017 data, click here.
Covered establishments with 250 or more employees are only required to provide their 2017 Form 300A summary data. OSHA is not accepting Form 300 and 301 information at this time. OSHA announced that it will issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to reconsider, revise, or remove provisions of the “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses” final rule, including the collection of the Forms 300/301 data. The agency is currently drafting that notice of proposed rulemaking and will seek comment on those provisions.
Read more here. 4/30/2018