By Brent Addleman | The Center Square
Vermont businesses will see a rate decrease in worker’s compensation insurance premiums again this year, Gov. Phil Scott said.
The governor said in a news release the rates are dropping for a record sixth consecutive year and employers will be paying 41% less than they paid in 2016 due to the record streak.
According to the release, mechanized logging companies will see a rate decrease of up to 16%, while certain sectors of the skiing industry will see reductions between 4% and 9%. The dairy industry will see a 7% to 9% decrease.
“As we work to grow the economy and our workforce, addressing the high cost of doing business in Vermont is critical,” Scott said. “A major expense for Vermont businesses has been workers’ compensation insurance, so I’m proud that we’ve been able to reduce these costs each year, without reducing benefits for workers. These savings will help Vermont employers of all sizes hire more workers, increase salaries and expand their operations in our state.”
According to the release, the rate decrease will go into effect April 1 and will save employers more than $8 million in premiums this year alone.
“As Vermont businesses and workers face unparalleled challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is very encouraging to see that workplaces are continuing to become safer, which translates into lower workers’ compensation rates,” Department of Financial Regulation Commissioner Michael Pieciak said in the release. “I applaud Vermont’s business community and the staff at the department for their work to make our workplaces safer and our state more affordable.”
Worker’s compensation is purchased through one of two markets, at the voluntary market and the assigned risk market. The voluntary market will see loss costs decrease by 4.9%, which is the primary factor of the lower rates. Of the state’s businesses, 90% purchase from the voluntary market. For the assigned risk market, rates will decrease by 5.6%.
According to the release, mechanized logging companies will see a rate decrease of up to 16%, while certain sectors of the skiing industry will see reductions between 4% and 9%. The dairy industry will see a 7% to 9% decrease.
The Department of Financial Regulation implemented rules during the COVID-19 pandemic that excluded virus-related claims from being tallied as part of future premiums.
The other part of the untold story is this; there are fewer jobs in VT now that pay the wages that would be received if Howe-Richardson, Tambrands, Mal-Tool, Moore Business Forms, were in Rutland paying the great wages and benefits they were noted for.
And this downsizing of jobs was by design; the design of the looney left because they did not want to be in competition with the working class, who were probably doing better than they were. So get rid of them, VT Yankee and those 650 jobs…. gone forever, by design. Now we have a welfare, third world state. Just look at Burlington and parts of Rutland. And we keep electing these morons. Beyond the pale.
Must be the Governor thinks we are not smart enough to see through this nonsense.
This is a BS report. How does a person collect workmans comp when they are sitting on their collective butts at home collecting some form of covid pay. Please explain this to me.