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BWC Board of Directors Approves Rebate of $1 Billion!!!
Governor John Kasich recently joined BWC Administrator Steve Buehrer to announce a proposal of providing a $1 billion rebate to Ohio private and public employers. The proposal also plans to triple the BWC’s investments in worker safety grants. The BWC Board of Directors approved the proposal on May 30th.
Some specifics are available for the billion dollar dividend proposal:
1) The dividend will be 56% of gross premium paid.
2) Time period is the 2011 policy year for both public and private employers
3) Individual Retrospectively rated employers will receive 56% of the upfront premium paid to the BWC as well as 56% of the claim loss billed for the 2011 policy year as of May 31, 2013. This applies to both private and public employers.
4) Group Retro employers will receive their dividends off of the net premium after the 12 month premium calculation adjustment scheduled to occur in August or September of this year. Dividends for employers in the 2011 group retro programs will not be paid until the adjustment is calculated.
5) Employers participating in the deductible program will receive dividends based on the discounted blended premium, but no credit for claims costs billed and paid.
6) Employers who canceled coverage prior to April 1, 2013 will not be eligible for the dividend.
7) Employers granted self-insurance before April 1, 2013 who paid premium in the 2011 policy year will be eligible for the dividend based on their billed premiums during the 2011 policy year.
8) Rebates will be treated as a one-time payment and not subject to adjustments for audits, rate adjustments, appealed balances, changes in lapsed status, etc.
A representative from Spooner will be in contact with you and provide an estimate of what the refund will be for your company. It is still unclear when exactly the BWC will be releasing the refund checks.
Rehashing the Complexities of Marijuana in the Workplace
Posted By Brandy King
February 02, 2026
Category: Medical Marijuana, Drugs In The Workplace, Marijuana Rescheduled, Marijuana Breathalyzer, Cannabix, Thc Breath Test
Toward the end of 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to expedite the rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. This is monumental in that it acknowledges that marijuana does, in fact, have valid clinical/medical uses and has low-to-moderate potential for abuse. Only four states in the U.S. still regard cannabis as being fully illegal, while another six allow only the cannabinoid CBD, which is known not to produce psychoactive effects. All other states have some version of legal or decriminalized marijuana, be it medical, recreational, or a combination of both. The first thing that’s important to note and is widely misunderstood is that this rescheduling does not legalize marijuana federally. As of January 28, 2026, Marijuana is still a Schedule I drug, since the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has not yet finalized this rule. Once they do cement this change, there could be some wide-sweeping changes to drug testing. The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) currently only allows testing for Scheduled I and II substances for federal and regulated drug-testing programs followed by DOT-regulated employees and other safety-sensitive positions. Truck drivers, pilots, transit operators, railroad employees, and pipeline workers are all currently subject to mandatory drug and alcohol testing, including marijuana. There has been talk of a
Unemployment Services with Spooner
Posted By Brandy King
February 02, 2026
Category: Ohio, Unemployment, Hr Outsourcing, Unemployment Claims, Fraud
If you haven’t considered trusting Spooner’s family of companies with managing your unemployment claims, maybe you’re not sure what it entails and how much time and hassle it could save. You may have also tried outsourcing this to another vendor in the past and found that their approach really didn’t save you much of anything. The team at Spooner Risk Control (which encompasses both Spooner Inc and SuretyHR) boasts over 15 years of experience managing unemployment claims, including an attorney that will represent your company at hearing. Many clients that are new to using our unemployment services have shared that past vendors still required them to log into their portal, submit all the responses and paperwork, then the vendor would send to the state. Our approach is to simply ask for the documentation, submit, and take care of everything. As an unemployment services client, you’d be asked to sign a third-party representation form that will allow any unemployment-related forms and letters to come directly to us so you’re not always the go-between. Here’s a run-down of the services you can expect as an Unemployment Services client: Monitor and report all new unemployment claims and notifications Submission of claims and responses after requesting information from the employer and submission of any rebuttals File and submit appeals on any base period unemployment notifications or allowed claims File appeals to the
New E-Verify Requirement for Non-Residential Construction (HB 246)
Posted By Brandy King
February 02, 2026
Category: I 9, Immigration, E Verify, Construction, Ohio Hb 246
If you weren’t paying close attention, you may have missed the passage of Ohio’s House Bill 246, or the E-Verify Workforce Integrity Act. This will require all Ohio nonresidential contractors, subcontractors, and labor brokers to confirm employees’ work eligibility through the federal E-Verify program. Nonresidential construction is defined in HB 246 as: “…The construction or renovation of any building, highway, bridge, utility, or related infrastructure, but does not include any of the following: (1) An industrialized unit, manufactured home, or a residential building as defined in section 3781.06 of the Revised Code; (2) A building or structure that is incidental to the use of the land on which the building or structure is located for agricultural purposes as defined in section 3781.06 of the Revised Code; (3) A mobile home as defined in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code.” Included employers are expected to be fully compliant with the E-Verify requirement by March 19, 2026. There are currently no exceptions being made for small businesses or sole proprietors, and E-Verify is a free service. Employers will enroll at www.e-verify.gov and create a new case for each new hire by entering info provided on their I-9 and should receive initial results in seconds. Once a final eligibility result is obtained, employers may close that employee’s case. The Act requires employers to maintain this verification record for three
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Westlake, Ohio 44145
Phone: 440-249-5260 ext. 153
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