Workers’ comp bureau cleared

COLUMBUS (AP) — The state’s insurance program for injured workers did nothing improper when it arbitrarily reduced workers’ compensation rates for some companies using little criteria or documentation, the Ohio inspector general said in a report issued Tuesday.

State law allows the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to grant companies rate appeals, and administrators have leeway to arrive at those decisions, the report by Inspector General Tom Charles said.

The investigation set out to determine if political influence played a role in rate reductions for some companies.

Rate appeals were requested by employers that had been removed from the bureau’s group-rate discount program because of on-the-job injuries that became too costly to the bureau’s insurance fund, the report said.

Under the structure set up by former Workers’ Comp administrator James Conrad, the decisions were made by one person — John Romig, the former chief of employer services. Romig “wielded almost imperial power” at the bureau, Charles’ report said.

Companies that made their rate requests through state representatives or senators usually received quicker action, but Charles said that’s common at most state agencies.