Judge Awards Ohio Employers $860M for Workers’ Comp Overcharges

March 22, 2013Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

Ohio employers are collectively owed $860 million after being overcharged for nearly a decade by the state insurance fund for injured workers, a Cleveland judge has ruled.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Richard McMonagle’s decision involving the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation affects about 270,000 mostly small-business owners, many unaware they are covered by the class action. His order rejected the state’s arguments for paying a smaller amount.

The lawsuit, which began in 2007, said the bureau gave discounted premiums to companies that joined group insurance plans and charged companies not in the group plans excessive rates to pay for the discounts.

McMonagle ruled in December in favor of business owners who didn’t participate in the group rating program, agreeing they had been charged unfair premiums from July 2001 to June 2009.

Lawyers for the businesses argued companies paying group rates were not charged premiums that covered their losses, which forced the other companies to cover the difference. The bureau discounted its group plans as high as 90 percent.

A new fee structure took effect in July 2009, after McMonagle ordered the bureau to change its system for setting premiums for injury insurance. The maximum discount set by the bureau for group plans is 53 percent.

The amount employers are owed in overcharges has been a matter of dispute. Employers suing Ohio in 2007 originally asked for $1.3 billion, which included interest on the amount claimed, but McMonagle asked them to revise the figure downward after declining to award the interest.

During an evidentiary hearing last week, the state argued the employers did not suffer any harm that entitles them to restitution.

Spokeswoman Melissa Vince said the bureau spent $861 million more in claims costs and expenses for the affected companies during the disputed period than they paid in premiums – even as the fund’s net assets shrunk. For every dollar in premiums paid, affected businesses had $1.26 in claims costs, she said.

McMonagle ultimately rejected the bureau’s arguments.

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Workplace Injuries Less Likely Where Employers Provide Paid Sick Leave

September 21, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

Workers with access to paid sick leave are 28 percent less likely overall to suffer nonfatal occupational injuries than workers without access to paid sick leave, according to a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) study.

The study found that workers in high-risk occupations and industries such as construction, manufacturing, agriculture, and health care and social assistance, appear to benefit most from paid sick leave.

The NIOSH study, by Abay Asfaw, PhD, Regina Pana-Cryan, PhD, and Roger R. Rosa, PhD, was published in the American Journal of Public Health.

The authors suggest that by providing an income, paid sick leave might keep some people who are sick from going back to work before they are ready, thereby making workplaces safer.

The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act requires employers to provide up to 12 weeks of leave to eligible workers, however this does not have to be paid leave. The researchers said that 43 percent of U.S. private sector workers reported having no access to paid sick leave. The study used data on 38 000 working adults.

The authors conclude that improved access to paid sick leave might help businesses reduce occupational injuries and, in turn, reduce employers’ costs.

“Our findings suggest that, similar to other investments in worker safety and health, introducing or expanding paid sick leave programs might help businesses reduce the incidence of nonfatal occupational injuries, particularly in high-risk sectors and occupations,” the authors wrote.

They also said that previous research has shown that paid sick leave is associated with shorter worker recovery times and reduced complications from minor health problems.

“We hope that our study along with previous research that supports our findings and conclusions will encourage policy makers and employers to consider the overall well-being of workers when making policy or funding decisions. Such a holistic approach would lead to more integrated development of programs that both prevent occupational injury and illness and improve other aspects of worker health,” the authors stated.

Source: NIOSH

 

Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetCategories: National NewsTopics: accident prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH, paid sick leave, Research and Trends, workers' compensation and paid sick leave, workplace injuriesHave a hot lead? Email us at newsdesk

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