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(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was
joined by Lt. Governor Jon Husted today to request the Ohio Bureau
of Workers' Compensation (BWC) send up to $5 billion in dividends to
Ohio employers to ease the continued financial impact from the
COVID-19 pandemic.
‘This pandemic is unprecedented, and continues to financially impact
Ohio employers and businesses,” said Governor DeWine. “Issuing these
dividends is important. This is about keeping businesses open and
people employed.”
If approved by BWC’s Board of Directors, it would bring the total
dividend dollars for employers this year to nearly $8 billion.
“As Ohio businesses confront the economic challenges of a COVID
world, this kind of financial relief can be the difference between
closing and staying open,” Lt. Governor Husted said. “We don’t want
Ohio businesses and the jobs they create to be a casualty of the
pandemic.”
The $5 billion dividend would be BWC's third dividend of more than
$1 billion this year, and the largest one-time dividend ever issued
by the BWC. BWC distributed $1.54 billion in April and $1.34 billion
in October. At $5 billion, this dividend is approximately four times
the total premiums BWC collected from its employer members in policy
year 2019.
“We’ve never issued three dividends in the same year, let alone any
for this much, but unprecedented times call for unprecedented
actions,” said BWC Administrator/CEO Stephanie McCloud. “Even so,
the State Insurance Fund is well positioned to cover our injured
workers for years to come.”
Despite the pandemic, BWC remains in a strong fiscal position from
healthy investment returns on employer premiums, a declining number
of claims each year, and prudent fiscal management.
Private and public employers in Franklin County would receive
approximately $559 million, followed by Cuyahoga County at $528
million. The employer in line for the single largest dividend check
in the state is the city of Columbus at nearly $64 million.
BWC’s Board of Directors is tentatively scheduled to vote on the
request during a special meeting on Monday, November 2, 2020. Please
check bwc.ohio.gov to confirm Board details.
Funded by employer premiums, BWC provides workers’ compensation
insurance to approximately 245,000 private employers, and 4,000
public employers, such as cities, counties, and schools. |
