by
<a href="mailto:retro@awcnet.org">retro@awcnet.org</a> | Sep 28, 2018
On Wednesday, Labor & Industries (L&I) announced the statewide average proposed rate change in 2019 will be a 5% decrease.
On Wednesday, Labor & Industries (L&I) announced the statewide average proposed rate change in 2019 will be a 5% decrease. What does this mean to public entities? Not much.
In recent years, L&I’s announcement of rate changes has been good, and sometimes great for the statewide average and for our city public works departments. However, public safety has always seen an increase. 2019 is no exception.
What this means for municipalities
The good news is a 3% decrease for city public works & parks. This marks a decrease for the third year in a row. Firefighters will see a 6% increase (opposed to previous years that saw double-digit increases). Law enforcement is increasing 8%.
|
Base rates by worker type
|
|
|
% rate changes
|
3-year cumulative change
|
|
City public works & parks
|
-3%
|
-9%
|
|
County streets & parks
|
1%
|
8%
|
|
Police and sheriffs
|
8%
|
17%
|
|
Firefighters
|
6%
|
19%
|
Employers in Washington are individually rated and pay workers' comp insurance base on their claim history. Individual rates and individual experience factors will be uploaded in your RiskConsole account next week. To get access to RiskConsole or to learn how claim costs affect your rates, contact a Retro staff member at retro@awcnet.org.
View a full listing of L&I’s proposed rate changes.