The announcement was made on the first of the month
Governor Baker and his administration have announced a reduction in the assessment employers must pay to the state on workers’ compensation insurance policies. The rate reduction offered is .05 percent.
“After reviewing the current assessment rate and the economic outlook for next year, we recommended lowering the rate. This will further support businesses, and anything we can do to support businesses and spur job growth is a very good thing,” said Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Ronald Walker, II.
As a result of the 0.05 percent reduction, employers will pay an assessment on their total insurance premium of 5.75 percent instead of the previous 5.8 percent rate. The new rate is effective as of July 1, 2015 for fiscal year 2016.
Each year, the Department of Industrial Accidents, which administers the workers’ compensation insurance system in the Commonwealth, establishes the annual assessment rates. Those assessment rates are then paid by employers to the state. The DIA itself is funded through the assessments on workers’ compensation policies, as well as self-insurance programs for employers operating in Massachusetts. In addition, the DIA also collects statutory fines and fees as well as acting as a court system for the resolution of disputed workers’ compensation claims. Each year, the DIA oversees and adjudicates approximately 12,000 disputes involving workers’ compensation claims.
