Changes to Stare’s Workers’ Comp Law

July 19, 2023

Pennsylvania alters Compensation Rating Bureau

  • Employers in Pennsylvania will have to adjust to a change in how they calculate their workers’ comp experience rating.
  • The Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau proposed changes at the state’s Annual Workers’ Compensation Conference that will impact employers across the commonwealth beginning April 1, 2024.
  • An employer is currently eligible for an experience rating if the premium developed by the audited payrolls or other exposures included in the experience period, extended at current Bureau Loss Costs, is $10,000 or more.
  • This will change to $5,000, meaning more PA employers will now qualify for experience rating as opposed to the merit rating program that applies to smaller-sized Pennsylvania employers.
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Hispanic teacher alleges retaliation for workers’ comp claim

  • A Hispanic teacher at a Houston private school alleges she was denied accommodations and terminated due to race and in retaliation over a workers’ comp claim.
  • Maria J. Torres-Calle filed a complaint in Harris County District Court against The Fay School alleging discrimination, workers’ comp retaliation, and other claims.
  • She claims that on March 4, 2022, she was walking on the school premises when she suffered “severe trauma” to her ankle.
  • Torres-Calle alleges she was forced to take PTO due to her work-related injury and was refused her request to work from home.
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Firms take workers’ comp loss

  • Zurich Insurance Group AG and Liberty Mutual Holding Co. Inc. reported the highest direct incurred loss ratios for workers’ comp in the first quarter of 2023.
  • Zurich had the worst loss ratio for the first quarter at 69.2%, a sharp increase from 54.1% a year earlier.
  • Liberty Mutual followed with a first-quarter loss ratio of 63.5%, a more modest increase from the 62.3% posted in the first quarter of 2022.
  • U.S. workers’ comp direct premiums earned rose 4.3% year over year in the first quarter, and the industry’s overall direct loss ratio deteriorated by 2.3 percentage points.
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Safety program for warehouses, distribution centers

  • The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently launched a national emphasis program to prevent workplace hazards in warehouses, processing facilities distribution centers, and high-risk retail establishments.
  • In the past 10 years, warehousing and distribution centers have experienced tremendous growth with more than 1.9 million people employed in the industry.
  • The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows injury and illness rates for these establishments are higher than in private industry overall and, in some sectors, more than twice the rate of private industry.
  • Under this three-year emphasis program, OSHA will conduct comprehensive safety inspections focused on hazards related to powered industrial vehicle operations, material handling, and storage, walking and working surfaces, means of egress, and fire protection.
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