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Safety committee urges department-level 'cost-of-risk' allocation for workers' compensation
Summary
The county's safety committee reported that a cost-of-risk allocation would assign workers' compensation costs to departments that generate more claims, improving transparency and incentives. Committee members asked for more department-level figures before implementation.
At the Jan. 20 meeting the county's safety committee representative presented a report urging Jefferson County to adopt a 'cost-of-risk' allocation for workers' compensation premiums. Under the proposal, departments that incur more claims or costlier claims would bear a larger share of the premium rather than applying an across-the-board percentage.
Committee representatives said the county had been allotted a roughly 30% decrease overall as part of discount ratings and that the cost-of-risk approach would make trends and problem areas easier to identify department-by-department. Supervisors sought clarity on subrogation, return-to-work policies and how an experience modification factor is calculated; staff explained that indemnity claims and time-off increase an employer's experience modification and therefore the department premium.
No formal vote was taken to adopt the allocation system at the Jan. 20 meeting; the committee and staff were asked to produce department-level numbers and to return with implementation details, including potential impacts on department budgets and timelines.
