The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) recently unveiled Grow Ohio, a program designed to attract new business to the state through discounted workers’ compensation insurance rates. The program applies to newly formed Ohio businesses or out-of-state businesses starting operations here that report payroll in Ohio on or after July 1, 2011.
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Download NowUnder the program, eligible businesses may choose between:
- a 25 percent discount on workers’ compensation premiums for 2 years, or
- the opportunity to enroll immediately in BWC’s group experience rating program, which could reduce premiums up to 51 percent.
Because eligibility for group rating is based partially on claims experience, group rating is normally unavailable to new employers during their first year of coverage.
Eligible employers will have 30 days to opt into the group rating program. Employers that do not enroll in group rating will automatically receive the 25 percent discount. The discount will be applied to the first eligible payroll period and four subsequent 6-month payroll periods. The incentives will be reflected on employers’ bills beginning in February 2012.
BWC Administrator and CEO Stephen Buehrer called Grow Ohio “a win-win both for new employers and existing employers,” noting that existing Ohio businesses stand to gain from “the increased economic activity that occurs with the creation of new jobs.”
Denny Davis, managing director of Workers’ Compensation Services at the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, disagreed. “While the aim of the program is laudable, encouraging economic growth, the proposal is unfair to Ohio’s existing employers,” Davis said in a written statement. “This new program would require subsidization of new employers’ premiums by employers already operating in the state.
"We oppose any program that forces one group of Ohio businesses to pay inflated premiums to offset the cost of unearned discounts given to another class of Ohio businesses. This circumstance is most concerning, of course, when a company is forced by the government to subsidize a competitor,” Davis concluded.