As we noted in October, the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) announced a proposal to increase workers compensation insurance rates for
firefighters and law enforcement for the fourth year in a row.
On November 30, L&I finalized the rates with no significant changes from the October proposal. While the new rate increases are moderate, they
are on top of higher-than-normal rate adjustments for the public safety sector in recent years. There is some good news, as rates for city public works and parks employees continued to decrease slightly. The finalized 2021 rates for all job classes
can be found here.
The following rates are worker types pertinent to municipalities:
Worker type | 2021 % change from 2020 | 4-year cumulative change |
|---|
City public works and parks | -1% | -6% |
County streets and parks | 1% | 4% |
City/county law enforcement | 6% | 29% |
Firefighters | 5% | 18% |
While individual work class rates did see some changes, the 2021 rates mark the fourth straight year there has been either no increase or a decrease in the statewide average premium rates. L&I Director Joel Sacks stated that L&I wanted
to keep 2021 rates steady because of the pandemic, but noted that increases would be needed in the future.
Premiums are determined by rates based on the type of work performed, and then multiplied by the jurisdiction’s experience factor. A jurisdiction’s experience factor can go up or down based on claim history and costs.
Members of AWC’s Retro Program can view their jurisdiction’s rate online via the RiskConsole portal.