Over the next couple of months trade associations will start sending Retro refund checks to their members. How much your company receives is largely based on your workplace injuries, or specifically the costs incurred if they do happen. There are a few things to keep in mind.
- Refunds will fluctuate. Claim costs and your portion of the refund will depend on what you do when there is a workplace injury. That is, the lower you keep your claim costs the more refund you will receive.
- Prevention is key. The least expensive claim is one that does not happen. Contact your safety professional to get practical, industry-specific solutions to keep your workers safe.
When a workplace injury does occur, employers have choices to help control claim costs.
Report all injuries to ERNwest right away
Claims reported within a week are 44% less expensive than those reported at four weeks! Report injuries at ernwest.com/incident-report.
Keep your employees on the job with light or modified-duty work.
Eliminating or reducing time loss by returning your employee to work after an injury according to their restrictions is the single most important thing you can do to help control claim costs.
Labor and Industries develops or inflates time-loss dollars. So, for every one dollar of time loss paid by L&I, three to five dollars will be taken out of a potential refund.
Pay your employees their normal wages if light or modified duty is not possible.
This is also called Kept on Salary, or KOS, and is when an employer pays an injured worker their regular pay and benefits while out because of a workplace injury.
Submit for Stay at Work (SAW) wage reimbursement
While this does not directly increase your retro refund check, it does help your bottom line. L&I will reimburse 50% of wages for your employees working light duty. For more information on SAW and our services, go to ernwest.com/saw.
Your ERNwest team is here to help. Contact your ERNwest claim manager or Group Manager to make sure you are getting the most out of Retro.