Dear Valued Client:

COVID-19 has raised many questions regarding Workers’ Compensation premium, experience rating, and claims – particularly In light of the stay-at-home orders issued by the Governors of each state.  We wanted to bring your attention to a few recent, very positive, changes enacted or proposed by the various Workers Compensation Rating Bureaus.  These changes attempt to temporarily mitigate the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on some of your Workers’ Compensation costs.

In short, the changes include:

  1. Excluding payments made to furloughed (not working) employees from premium and experience rating (MOD) calculations;
  2. Allowing temporary reassignment of WC class codes to Clerical or Telecommuter Codes, if appropriate;
  3. Excluding WC claims with a diagnosis of COVID-19 from WC experience rating (MODs).  This would only be applicable if a worker injured by COVID-19 is considered compensable in that State.

Attached HERE is a summary of the current changes by state.  Please note that it is important for you to keep separate, clear, and verifiable payroll records in order to take advantage of these changes, and we have provided some guidance for you in the attached.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.