The rate that employers pay to the state workers’
compensation system will drop again in 2015,
resulting in savings to all employers totaling $45
million, according to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
The savings are a direct result of the 2013 Business
Relief Act, which Cuomo signed into law last
year. The governor said the assessment rate for
employers has been cut by a total of 30 percent
over the last two years.
“Reducing the cost of doing business in New
York has been a top priority for this administration
and I’m proud to announce that our reforms
to the Workers’ Compensation System have lowered
rates for the second straight year,” Cuomo
said. “This is one more way we’re improving the
economic climate in New York and making this
state a place where businesses can grow, thrive
and create jobs.”
He said the new assessment methodology
and other efficiencies implemented in 2014 resulted
in $170 million in administrative savings,
of which $18 million directly benefits New York’s
public employers, like municipalities and school
districts. The savings has been applied to 2015,
resulting in the assessment rate falling to 13.2 percent from 13.8 percent, the second consecutive
annual decline.
According to the governor’s office, the Business
Relief Act standardized and corrected the
previously disjointed and antiquated assessment
process. Now, all employers are charged with the
same methodology, leading to a lower assessment
rate for all New York’s employers.
The Workers’ Compensation Board continuing
to enforce the legal requirement for employers to
carry workers’ compensation insurance expands
the pool of insureds.
Officials said both the number of people
working in New York state and the amount of
employees’ total wages earned increased over the
last year, contributing to the lower rate.
The Workers’ Compensation Board is in the
midst of a comprehensive “business process
re-engineering” to re-imagine the workers’
compensation system, state officials said. This
has identified initial projects that will re-create
a system that more effectively serves the needs
of injured workers and employers, resulting in
further savings for public and private employers
in the time to come.