Posted By Brandy King
February 19, 2025 Category: Ohio Bwc, Ohio Safety Congress, Self Insured Assessment, Dfsp, Drug Free Safety Program, Cirp, Claim Impact Reduction, One Claim Program

Employers participating in Ohio BWC’s Drug-Free Safety Program (Basic or Advanced) or a Comparable Program will need to submit their required reports by March 31. The report and instructions for Basic and Advanced participants can be found online here, and the report and instructions for Comparable-Level participants can be found online here. Your report also serves as an application for the next program year. If you have additional questions or concerns about this reporting, or need a resource for training, please reach out to your Client Services Manager at Spooner Inc., or email clientservices@spoonerinc.net.  If your policy is enrolled in the Claim Impact Reduction Program (CIRP, formerly known as the One Claim Program), you will need to complete the required training by March 31. A representative from your company must attend a half day class or three hour online class offered by BWC’s Division of Safety & Hygiene. This PDF has additional details about CIRP that first-year participants may find helpful.  For self-insured employers, annual self-insured assessments are due February 28th.  Ohio Safety Congress registration recently opened as well. This three day educational event is free to attend for employers with an active Ohio BWC policy. The Expo Marketplace will be open Wednesday and Thursday, and we encourage you to come visit us in booth 129! You can register for Ohio Safety Congress

Posted By Brandy King
January 15, 2025 Category: General

The clock is ticking on Group Retro enrollment for the 2025 Ohio BWC policy year! The deadline for Group Retro paperwork is January 27, 2025. If you're a Spooner client enrolling in Retro, you should have already received your program renewal from us. If you haven’t, please reach out to your client services manager. If your BWC policy was disqualified for savings programs for 2025 or you don’t have the flexibility of waiting to see savings, we’d also encourage you to explore SuretyHR, our self-insured PEO (professional employer organization). SuretyHR is an alternative to being insured by Ohio BWC for workers’ compensation. By creating a co-employment relationship with other employers, we’re able to place them in our own self-insured workers’ compensation plan. PEO clients also have the added benefit of SuretyHR’s team assisting with safety, HR, FMLA and unemployment claims administration, and quite a bit more. You can request a savings analysis from SuretyHR

Posted By Brandy King
January 07, 2025 Category: Ohio BWC, Group Retro, 20018 Group Retro, 2019 Group Retro, Group Retro Refunds Withheld

The team at Spooner Risk Control Services, Kent Elastomer Products, Inc. and Roetzel & Andress have scored another win in the fight to get businesses the Group Retro refunds they’ve earned. Background: At the end of 2020, we shared Ohio BWC’s decision to withhold Group Retro refunds owed to participating employers for the 2018 and 2019 policy years. This was based on the concept that employers were already returned 100% of premiums for those years via dividends released to Ohio employers in April and October of 2020. However, dividend distribution and Group Retro refunds are governed by different rules, and different portions of the Ohio Revised Code. We appealed this decision in August 2020, kicking off a legal battle with Ohio BWC that will continue into 2025. After the victory for Group Retro participants in February 2023, BWC appealed the magistrate’s ruling, stating five objections. A hearing was held on November 19, 2024 by the 10th District Court of Appeals, and four of the five objections were overruled. For the reasons detailed here, the court again ruled in favor of Ohio businesses granted a limited writ of mandamus (meaning BWC is obligated to pay out Group Retro refunds).   Hellbent on not paying these earned program refunds to employers, BWC chose to file yet another appeal on December 30, 2024 arguing their reasoning for withholding the refunds. From here, the matter will be referred to the Supreme Court of

Posted By Brandy King
December 16, 2024 Category: Non Compete, Employment Law, Non Solicitation Agreement, Ohio

FTC’s Non-Compete Ban Blocked, But Gray Area Remains In early 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) introduced and finalized a rule banning the use of non-competes. Employers, Chambers of Commerce and trade organizations rallied against the new rule claiming it was anti-employer, some going as far as calling it “blatantly awful.” As expected, the change was met with litigation and in August of 2024, the ban was  struck down by a federal judge in Texas who claimed the FTC overstepped its authority by issuing the rule. A non-compete (or non-competition agreement) is an agreement in which the employee agrees not to engage in conduct or activities that could increase competition for their employer. These types of arrangements are prevalent in finance, healthcare, design, tech and all types of sales or business development roles. They’re meant to protect things like trade secrets, privileged info and client retention. Non-competes aren’t the same as non-solicitation clauses. These agreements err more toward not calling on your former clients in your new role. Here’s an example of differentiating between the two. Non-Compete: “Upon leaving ABC Company, you may not engage in a similar role for another insurance company within a 50-mile radius.” Non-Solicitation: “Upon leaving ABC Company, you may not solicit (contact/call on) clients of ABC Company in your new role with another insurance company.” For now, bo

Posted By Brandy King
December 16, 2024 Category: Contribution Limits, Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans, HSA, FSA, ACA

ACA Updates & Reminders It’s almost time for ACA reporting! There aren’t any major changes this year, but here are some items to be aware of for the 2024 tax year. The employee distribution deadline for the 1095-C forms is March 3, 2025. Since the 2023 tax year, the IRS requires all employers with more than ten (10) forms to report electronically. Employers can complete this either directly through the IRS website or through a third-party provider. Corrected forms are also required to be submitted electronically. If you’re submitting 10 or fewer forms, you can still file on paper. The deadline for this is February 28, 2025. The deadline for e-filing 1095-C and 1094-C forms to the IRS is March 31, 2025. Keep in mind that there could be additional ACA state reporting requirements for your organization with differing deadlines. The states to pay special attention to are California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia. Updated penalties and affordability percentages. The ACA penalizes Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) that don’t offer what’s considered affordable coverage to full-time employees (FTEs). The affordability percentage is the maximum amount of an employee’s pay that “Employee Only” coverage can cost the employee in order to be considered affordable by ACA. For 2024, that percentage is 8.39%. The affordability percentage will jump to 9.02% for 2025, and the associated fines will

Posted By Brandy King
December 16, 2024 Category: Dfsp, Drug Testing, Drug Screens, Ohio Bwc, Sur Program, Substance Abuse Recovery

Ohio’s recreational marijuana sales have started!  Spooner clients who haven't had a recent review of their drug-free policy can take advantage of a no-cost, no-obligation policy review by First Connect Corporate Services.  Our clients who need an update or new policy development will have access to discounted pricing when they mention Spooner.  To take advantage of this offer, email your drug free policy to lisawade@firstconnectplus.com and identify your company as a Spooner client. Don’t forget, there is a reimbursement available to Ohio employers current on their workers’ compensation premium that will cover the costs of policy development or update, employee or supervisor training or Train the Trainer programs.  Some drug testing is even included. For most employers, the reimbursement means zero out of pocket when using First Connect as the provider. Since 2004, First Connect has been a leading provider of drug free program development and training services in the state of Ohio.  For more information, please visit their website at www.firstconnectplus.com or call 855.990.5500 and speak to Lisa

Posted By Brandy King
December 16, 2024 Category: TTD, Ohio Bwc, Workers Comp, Disability, Autozone

Last year, we told you about a case that left employers' use of the Voluntary Abandonment defense unclear, and could have long-term negative repercussions. Luckily, it’s been clarified by a recent ruling. The Supreme Court of Ohio officially interpreted a section of the Revised Code in a way that sincerely benefits employers. The employer, Autozone, was contesting claimant’s receipt of temporary total disability (TTD) compensation after an approved surgery that took place two months after the employer terminated the claimant for unrelated reasons. The claimant incurred a work-related injury in June of 2020, and returned to work on light duty following conservative treatment. The claimant was terminated in September 2020 for reasons unrelated to the claim. In November 2020, the claimant underwent an approved surgery for the allowed condition, and subsequently filed for TTD. Autozone argued that the claimant wasn’t entitled to TTD because there were no lost wages to replace - due to the claimant not working at the time of the surgery.  The Industrial Commission greenlit the initial request for disability compensation starting on the surgery date. Autozone then filed an appeal with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, requesting the order be vacated and the claimant be found ineligible for TTD. The court agreed with the Industrial Commission and rejected the employer’s argument to deny TTD. The employer then appealed to the Ohio Supreme

Posted By Brandy King
November 21, 2024 Category: FLSA, DOL, Overtime Rule, White Collar Exemption, Wage And Hour

Toward the end of 2023, we advised our readers that changes would be coming to the FLSA white-collar overtime exemption threshold. The first change took place in July 2024, raising the minimum salary for overtime exempt employees from $35,568 to $43,888. Employers scrambled, crunched numbers, and made the necessary adjustments to comply with this new legislation. The plan was to raise that minimum salary again in January of 2025 to $58,656. Many employers had already made arrangements to be compliant with the new figure as of 1/1/25.   However, on November 15, 2024, a federal court in Texas issued a decision vacating the ruling, which reverts the minimum salary threshold to $35,568. We’ve received a lot of questions on this, so we want to clarify – this change applies to employers nationwide. Regardless of the state the hearing may occur in, it is still a federal court and a federal judge.  The court stated in their lengthy opinion on the matter that the Department of Labor (DOL) had overstepped their authority in determining the amounts of these increases. This essentially kicks it back to the DOL to rethink their rule.  DOL may choose to appeal this ruling, and we will keep you updated on any changes. As for now, the increase planned for January 1, 2025 will not take effect. If you have questions or concerns about how these changes may impact your company, don’t hesitate to reach out to your team at

Posted By Brandy King
October 28, 2024 Category: Ohio Bwc, Group Rating, Group Retro, Premium Savings

The clock is ticking on Group Rating enrollment for the 2025 Ohio BWC policy year! The deadline for Group Rating paperwork is November 15, 2024. The Group Rating program provides upfront premium savings for qualified Ohio employers. If you are a Spooner client and are eligible for Group Rating, you should have already received your program renewal from us. If you haven’t, please reach out to your client services manager. If you’d like to receive a quote for Group Rating from Spooner Inc., we can accept requests through Wednesday, November 6. You can complete an authorization online by visiting this page. Keep in mind that waiting this long for a quote means you’d have a maximum of one week to make your decision once you receive it. No one likes feeling rushed, so we’d suggest getting your request in as soon as possible! Not all Ohio employers are eligible for Group Rating, and may want to consider the Group Retrospective program enrolls through January 27th. Usually referred to as Group Retro, employers enrolled in this program will see savings down the road once actual vs. expected losses are measured. For businesses that aren’t eligible for Group Rating, and don’t have the flexibility of waiting to see savings, we’d also encourage you to explore SuretyHR, our self-insured PEO (professional employer organization). SuretyHR is an alternative to being insured by Ohio BWC for workers’ compensation. By creating a

Posted By Brandy King
October 28, 2024 Category: Osha, Top Ten, Most Cited, Violations, Fall Protection, Ppe, Respiratory Protection

OSHA released its annual Top 10 list of most cited workplace safety standards earlier this month at the National Safety Council Congress & Expo in Orlando, Florida. The violations making it into the top 10 are the same as last year, but their respective place in the top 10 may have changed. On the bright side, most categories saw fewer violations in the last year, compared to the prior year’s data. Respiratory protection and PPE were the two categories that saw increases, and these violations are avoidable with the right knowledge, programs, and enforcement in place.   Many employers don’t realize that they need to provide respiratory protection to employees in certain roles. Check out our blog on respiratory protection programs to get an idea of what’s involved.  The list reflects violations from October 2023 through September 2024, and is based solely on federal OSHA data. For yet another year, Fall Protection (general requirements) was #1 with more than double the violations of the next largest category, and hasn’t moved from that spot for 13 years.  1.    Fall Protection – General Requirements: 7,271 violations 2.    Hazard Communication: 3,213 3.    Ladders: 2,978 4.    Scaffolding: 2,859 5.    Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178): 2,561 6.    Lockout/Tagout (1910.147): 2,554 7.    Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 2