WC Relief Hard to Come by for 4 out of 5 Municipalities
Friday, December 7, 2012 | 0
Four out of five municipalities that responded to a new survey said their workers’ compensation costs have increased in the past year. More than half said their costs had gone up more than 5%, and nearly 30% said their costs had gone up more than 10%.
The Workers’ Compensation Policy Institute has completed a second online survey of municipal representatives from across New York State with the goal of evaluating their experiences with workers’ compensation and its costs and found that most of them are experiencing similar struggles in coping with the high costs of operating in New York State.
More than 150 respondents representing towns, villages, cities, fire districts, libraries, public authorities and schools responded, providing their best answers to the Institute’s questions about workers’ compensation coverage.
The Institute’s analysis of the survey responses produced several additional results:
- Only 18% of respondents said that their workers’ compensation costs have decreased or remained the same.
- Of 153 respondents, more than 65% have secured guaranteed cost coverage for workers’ compensation, and almost 20% are self-insured.
- For the respondents with guaranteed cost coverage, 51% have premiums of less than $100,000.
- 72% of the respondents are in a civil service position at their municipality, while only 18% of respondents are elected officials.
- More than 60% of responding municipalities employed emergency responders.
- Responses were statewide and represent more than 60% of New York’s counties.
Respondents were also given the opportunity to include comments about their municipalities’ view of workers’ comp costs. Their comments further solidify the Institute’s findings that New York state assessments impose a significant burden on New York’s municipalities and that these municipalities have continued to see large increases post-2007 reform.
“The additional increase of workers’ compensation premiums continue to complicate an already difficult situation and will be difficult to sustain over the long-term,” said Paul Jahn, executive director of the Workers' Compensation Policy Institute.
“These costs, combined with the other mandates in New York State, put intense pressure on all New York employers and weaken the economic vitality of the state and its communities. For municipalities and other public entities, they put added pressure on the tax base and the municipalities’ ability to provide services – pressure that will only worsen under New York’s new property tax cap.”
View the survey report here.
Paul Jahn is executive director of the New York Public Policy Institute, which is the research affiliate of the Public Employer Risk Management Association (PERMA). This column was reprinted with permission from the institute's web site.
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