NCCI September Labor Report Shows August Bounce

The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) has released the latest edition of its Labor Market Insights report. It provides a monthly overview of key labor market statistics and potential impact on workers’ compensation.
Employment gains bounced back in August after a soft July, but they remained lower than earlier in the year.
The number of workers on temporary layoff declined by 190,000 in August, reversing most of July’s increase, helping to push down the overall unemployment rate.
The full September report is available here.
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Draft legislation under consideration in Pennsylvania could “chill if not put a complete stranglehold” on workers’ compensation settlements, according to a blog by Paul Fires, co-managing partner of law firm Weber Gallagher’s workers’ compensation practice.
Pennsylvania House Bill 2490 would amend the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act to prohibit employers from requiring side agreements as a condition of a workers’ compensation settlement, and would penalize employers and insurers if they are found to be in violation of this prohibition.
Among the problematic elements of the bill is that it would: Result in governmental overreach into private arrangements between employers and employees; Allow injured workers to claim entitlement much more easily to post-settlement unemployment compensation benefits; and, Would allow post settlement employees to share confidential settlement information, encouraging possible filing of spurious cases.
The bill is pending review by the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s Labor and Industry Committee.
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The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) is proposing a “relatively modest” 3.8% increase in the average hourly rate employers and workers pay for workers’ compensation insurance for 2025.
That equates to an increase of about a dollar per week in the average cost of providing insurance per full-time employee within a business, according to an L&I statement.
As it is less than what L&I expects to pay out for 2025 claims, the agency expects to make up the difference from the WC contingency reserve.
Without using the reserve, it would need to raise average rates nearly 5.5% to collect enough premiums to cover next year’s expected new claims.
Public hearings are scheduled for Oct. 28 and 29 on the rate proposal.
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