Employer Supported BWC Changes Passed in the Ohio General Assembly

CEA has continually advocated over the years for various policies to contain or lower BWC costs.

This session, the Construction Employers Association (CEA) supported HB 207 BWC which allows a state fund employer to have a workers' compensation claim that is likely to be subrogated by a third party paid from the surplus fund account in the state insurance fund rather than charged to the employer's experience.  The bill pertains to certain circumstances when a claim is based on a motor vehicle accident involving a third party.

The bill has passed both the Ohio House and Ohio Senate and awaits action by the Governor.

CEA worked with Associated General Contractors of Ohio (AGC), the Ohio Contractors Association (OCA), National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the Mechanical Contractors Association of Ohio (MCAO) to let legislators know the importance our industry places on workplace safety which can unfortunately be undone by one careless third party act.

The legislation will help employees gain BWC coverage while allowing BWC rates to remain at a reasonable level.

With construction’s ever changing job sites, this bill can be another step in providing stability for workers and the companies that employ them.

For questions on CEA’s BWC based programs or this legislation, please contact Glen Shumate at [email protected].