Colorado Governor’s Great Workers Comp Move
A great Workers Comp move was made in Colorado recently by the Governor.
Senate Bill 37 is a measure that begins the process of slowly eliminating a surcharge that Colorado businesses pay on workers compensation premiums. SB 37 was unanimously approved by a House of Representatives panel on Tuesday. The legislation, which was already approved by the Senate, must be heard by the House Appropriations Committee before advancing to the House floor.
According to the Denver Business Journal, SB 37 would gradually phase out a 2.98 percent surcharge on premiums that companies pay for workers-compensation insurance. The surcharge currently generates about $34 million a year. That $34 million could be back in the bank accounts of the businesses in a very bad economy.
The fees fund two reserves that are supposed to cover the cost of catastrophic losses from workers compensation claims. But the program was eliminated 16 years ago and has not accepted a new beneficiary since that time, leaving nearly 700 surviving beneficiaries to draw from the fund.
According to the Denver Business Journal, “In recent years (including this year), lawmakers have used the reserves as a “slush fund” to cover budgetary shortfalls. Supporters of SB 37 argue it’s wrong to plug budgetary holes on the backs of Colorado businesses.” I would have to wholeheartedly agree.
I wonder how many other states are tacking on unnecessary Workers Comp fees to the detriment of the states’ businesses. In our Work Comp Audit reviews, we often see so many fees stacked on to the manual premium. Any the fees charged to employers that can be reduced or eliminated is a great idea.
If you know of any fees such as these, drop me an email and I will bring it up in a future blog post. I will likely have two or three more posts on this subject.
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