Worker’s Comp Dividends in the Mail – Benefits to Injured Workers Increase

The dividends that employers receive from Labor & Industries (L&I) for premiums paid for worker’s compensation insurance were mailed or applied, beginning June 30. The dividends, totaling $37 million, are the final step of a process in which L&I returns excess funds from the state’s workers’ compensation system. Approximately 100,000 employers will be mailed dividend checks, while another 28,000 employers will receive credit toward their next worker’s compensation premiums and 11,000 employers will have their dividends applied to premiums already owed.

Workers currently receiving Washington worker’s compensation wage-replacement or pension benefits received a 5.018 percent cost of living increase effective July 1. State law requires that benefits be recalculated each year to reflect the change in the state’s average wage from the previous calendar year.

The amount L&I pays for a permanent partial disability (PDD) also increased. That annual increase is based on the change in the Consumer Price Index. Effective July 1, PDD awards will rise 2.88 percent for workplace injuries incurred July 1 and beyond. PDD awards go to workers who have lost a body part or suffered a permanent disabling injury.

 
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