Kasich announces BWC rebates

By Marc Kovac | March 14, 2017 at 12:00a.m.

COLUMBUS

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation proposed another round of rebates, this time a $1 billion payback, thanks in part to higher-than-expected investment returns.

Pending review and approval by the BWC Board of Directors, private and public employers would receive checks later this year equal to 66 percent of the premiums they paid into the system in 2015 and/or 2016.

The rebates were announced Monday by Gov. John Kasich, Senate President Larry Obhof, R-Medina, and Sarah Morrison, BWC administrator/CEO, during a news event in Columbus.

“This is a pretty significant day. It’s making Ohio more competitive. It should be a big boost for the year to Ohio’s employers,” Obhof said. “This is just the latest step in our move toward making Ohio the most business-friendly state in the country.”

The new rebate would be the third of its kind since Kasich took office, with the administration estimating $6 billion-plus in total workers’ compensation savings over that time.

“We’ve gone from the third-highest workers’ comp rates in 2008 to the 11th lowest,” Kasich said, adding later, “Giving, like, over $6 billion back, going from one of the highest to one of the lowest, I think we’re doing just fine, and we want to make sure we protect those funds.”

Morrison said the bureau has lowered rates for employers by nearly 30 percent since 2011. “Rates for private employers are their lowest point in more than 40 years,” she said. “And for public employers, we’re at their lowest rate in more than 30 years.”

A BWC spokeswoman said the agency has not compiled information about average check amounts or ranges of rebates. But private businesses stand to receive a combined $967 million, while school districts and other public employers would receive $133 million.

“Our largest private employers in the public taxing districts will receive rebates in the millions of dollars,” Morrison said.