News from the BWC...

There are only a few notable deadlines in August and September, but the True-Up deadline is very important and there are only a few days left to do it. (If you have a large true-up credit, please note that BWC will credit this to any outstanding premium installment payments unless you specifically request a live check back from them.)

Upcoming important dates and deadlines:

• August 15, 2017- due date for the policy year 2016 payroll true-up report! This report must be on file with BWC by that date, or your participation in discount and rating programs may be in jeopardy. Please see attachment for more details.
• August 30, 2017- due date for the DFSP action plan (DFSP-5) for a 7/1 program start date. Please note this is for advanced level only.
• September 30, 2017- “snapshot date” that BWC uses to capture costs in claims for the 2018 experience calculation.

Future Dating of BWC Premium Payments: As of June 30, BWC began allowing for future dating of premium payments, available through their website, www.bwc.ohio.gov. You can now schedule future payments to avoid missed or late payments and for true-up reconciliation.

Please note the following:

• BWC only accepts ACH transactions for future dating
• BWC does not allow future credit card payments
• Since you select the payment date, be certain you have the correct premium installment deadlines for reference
• Payment may be blocked by your bank; be sure to confirm the transaction was authorized
• In case your bank requires it, the BWC debit blocker code is: #3311334187. It is your responsibility to provide this to your bank if necessary

If you would like to schedule multiple installment payments, you can do so through the “Accounts Receivable” screen by choosing different dates for each one. All payments must be ACH.  

2018 Group Programs: Group Rating renewals have been sent out to our current clients, and Group Rating and Group Retro invitations are being sent now through the end of summer. Businesses may have eligibility for multiple programs, or dual eligibility, in which case they have or will receive both a Group Rating invitation and a Group Retro invitation.  We are eager to discuss what looks best financially, and in form and function. Here’s to another tremendous year of administrating successful workers’ comp savings programs for our clients!

New Payroll Reporting Caps: For the 2017 policy year (7/1/17-6/30/18), BWC has updated the payroll reporting caps for corporate officers. The minimum reportable wage per person/per week is $451, and $1353 is the maximum.

Those affected by the payroll reporting limitation are defined by BWC as such:

Active executive officers of a corporation

Note: Officers are considered active if they are engaged in any work on behalf of the corporation.

• Employers listed below who choose elective coverage (because they are not required to carry workers’ compensation insurance).
  - Sole proprietors
  - Partnership
  - Family farm corporate officers
  - Limited liability company acting as a partnership
  - Limited liability company acting as a sole proprietor
  - Individual incorporated as a corporation (with no employees)
• Non-officer board members are not subject to the officer minimum/maximum rules.

For the construction industry (those in Industry Group 4), the payroll limitation reporting cap is also $1353. BWC states to “apply the weekly cap on an employee-by-employee basis. In the absence of weekly records, you can only take advantage of the cap on the whole payroll reporting basis. It makes no difference if the employee is full time, part time or seasonal. Section 125 cafeteria plan deductions must be deducted PRIOR to calculating the excess amount. Bonuses paid in the policy year are to spread out among the weeks worked. The weekly construction cap does not affect officers of the corporation or owners with elective coverage since the weekly officer cap is the same as the weekly construction cap.”

Incident checklist: Please see the attached, updated Incident Reporting Checklist that our safety department, RiskControl360°, created for our clients. You probably (hopefully) already have something similar in place but please look this over in case there areas you didn’t think about. It also ties in when to contact your MCO, and when to contact us, your TPA, as this is always a bit of a gray area.

Amber Hart
Program Manager 
CareWorksComp
Phone: (614) 932-1553
Toll Free 800-837-3200 ext. 51553
Fax: (614) 210-5596
Amber.Hart@careworkscomp.com
www.careworkscomp.com