On November 30, the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) announced new workers’ compensation rates have been adopted for 2023.
The state average rate will increase by 4.8%, though some job classifications important to cities will see higher increases than the average rate discussed in L&I’s press release. The new rates will go into effect January 1. We last
wrote about the proposed rate hike in late September.
L&I states the increase is needed due to wage inflation and rising medical costs, and the department is dipping into the workers’ compensation program’s contingency reserve to avoid a larger rate increase and maintain relatively stable
average rates.
For cities, several important job classifications will see these rate increases:
Worker type | 2023 % change from 2022 | Three-year change |
|---|
City public works/parks | +6.71% | +6.60% |
City office & admin | +6.51% | +16.61% |
City/county law enforcement | +14.25% | +23.48% |
City/county firefighters | +10.22% | +19.92% |
You can look up additional final job classification rate changes here. 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.