Make Oregon Workers Compensation Insurance Work for Your Company Part III, Consider using the Free Resources Available from the State of Oregon
By Jeff Cecchini, ACSR, Sales Professional
Montgomery & Graham
Property & Casualty
Receive FREE (supported by our taxes) Resources The State of Oregon has free money to support your company’s efforts to keep workers’ comp insurance premiums low. (In truth, as you’ll learn below the free money isn’t really free; it comes from a tax funded by worker and employer contributions to the Workers’ Benefit Fund (WBF).)
How can your company access these free resources?
Here are some state programs that enable you to do the right thing, save workers’ compensation insurance premium dollars, and receive FREE MONEY:
Employer-at-Injury Program
The Employer-at-Injury Program encourages the early return to work of injured workers. It does this by helping defray your early return-to-work costs and reducing claim costs. Here’s how:
Wage subsidy reimburses you 50 percent of the early return-to-work gross wages for a maximum of 66 work days within 24 consecutive months.
Worksite modification reimburses you up to $2500 for rental, purchase, or modification of equipment that allows your worker to perform early return-to-work job duties, within the injury-related restrictions.
Early return-to-work purchases reimburses you for a range of things, including the following:
Reemployment Assistance Program
The Reemployment Assistance Program offers incentives to hire or rehire injured workers. You can get a premium exemption and funds for wage subsidies, worksite modifications, certain purchases, and claim cost reimbursement for eligible employers and workers.
The program also reimburses insurers and self-insured employers for certain related administrative costs.
Assistance necessary for a worker to find, accept, or retain employment in Oregon:
Where does all this ‘free money’ come from?The money comes from a payroll assessment calculated on the basis of hours worked by all paid workers, owners, and officers that are:
You report and pay the WBF assessment directly to the State with your other state payroll taxes. Fund assessment rate for employers and employees is 2.8 cents per hour for calendar year 2009.
Additional workers comp insurance tipsCheck out the previous installments in the series:
By Jeff Cecchini, ACSR, Sales Professional
Montgomery & Graham
Property & Casualty
Receive FREE (supported by our taxes) Resources The State of Oregon has free money to support your company’s efforts to keep workers’ comp insurance premiums low. (In truth, as you’ll learn below the free money isn’t really free; it comes from a tax funded by worker and employer contributions to the Workers’ Benefit Fund (WBF).)
How can your company access these free resources?
Here are some state programs that enable you to do the right thing, save workers’ compensation insurance premium dollars, and receive FREE MONEY:
Employer-at-Injury Program
The Employer-at-Injury Program encourages the early return to work of injured workers. It does this by helping defray your early return-to-work costs and reducing claim costs. Here’s how:
Wage subsidy reimburses you 50 percent of the early return-to-work gross wages for a maximum of 66 work days within 24 consecutive months.
Worksite modification reimburses you up to $2500 for rental, purchase, or modification of equipment that allows your worker to perform early return-to-work job duties, within the injury-related restrictions.
Early return-to-work purchases reimburses you for a range of things, including the following:
- Up to $1000 for tuition, books, and fees for classes or a course to update skills and/or meet the requirements of the light-duty job
- Up to $2500 for tools and equipment required for the light-duty job
- Up to $400 for clothing required for the light-duty job
Reemployment Assistance Program
The Reemployment Assistance Program offers incentives to hire or rehire injured workers. You can get a premium exemption and funds for wage subsidies, worksite modifications, certain purchases, and claim cost reimbursement for eligible employers and workers.
The program also reimburses insurers and self-insured employers for certain related administrative costs.
Assistance necessary for a worker to find, accept, or retain employment in Oregon:
- Tuition, books, and fees for instruction to update existing skills or to meet the requirements of a job ($1,000 max.)
- Temporary lodging, meals, and mileage to attend instruction when overnight travel is required ($500 maximum)
- Tools and equipment mandatory for employment ($2,500 max.)
- Clothing required for the job ($400 max.)
- Moving expenses for a job in Oregon if the new worksite is more than 50 miles from the worker's primary residence
- Initiation fees, or back dues and one month's current dues, required by a labor union
- Occupational certification, licenses, and related testing costs ($500 max.)
- Worksite creation costs incurred as part of creating a new job for a preferred worker ($5,000 max.). (Note that all the items here belong to the employer.)
- Miscellaneous purchases that don't fit in any other categories but are necessary for the preferred worker to find, accept, or retain employment in Oregon ($2,500 max. per claim opening)
Where does all this ‘free money’ come from?The money comes from a payroll assessment calculated on the basis of hours worked by all paid workers, owners, and officers that are:
- Covered by workers´ compensation insurance in Oregon
- Subject to Oregon’s Workers´ Compensation Laws
You report and pay the WBF assessment directly to the State with your other state payroll taxes. Fund assessment rate for employers and employees is 2.8 cents per hour for calendar year 2009.
Additional workers comp insurance tipsCheck out the previous installments in the series:
- Part 1: Manage Your Annual Unit Statistical Card http://mgpcworkerscomp.blogspot.com/2009/07/getting-in-shape-your-unit-statistical.html
- Part II: Determine Your Lowest Possible Cost for Workers Compensation Insurance and How to Get There http://mgpcworkerscomp.blogspot.com/2009/07/do-you-know-your-lowest-possible-cost.html
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