News and Updates
Category: True Up
Changes Coming for 2025 True Up
With the filing deadline over a month behind us now, hopefully your policy’s 2023-2024 BWC True Up has been completed. The reporting period has historically been July 1through August 15, with a grace period of 30 days. Spooner’s team has been notified that for the current and coming policy years, the True Up period for reporting payroll and paying any remaining balances will be July 1 through August 31, with no grace period. It’s important to note that failure to True Up can impact your eligibility for Group Rating and Group Retro, which can translate to thousands of dollars in lost
2023-2024 Policy Year True Up with BWC
It’s almost True Up Time! BWC’s True Up window will begin on July 1, 2024 and will run through August 15, 2024. This is a process required by Ohio BWC at the end of each policy year, where your premiums based on projected payroll for the previous policy year are balanced with premiums based on your actual payroll over the past year. Compliance with both the reporting and payment of any balances affects your company’s eligibility for most savings programs (like Group and Group Retro). If your actual payroll was higher than projected, you’ll be expected to pay that balance to Ohio BWC no later than August 15th. If you are unable to pay the lump sum at that time, please note that any future premium installments will first be applied to your delinquent True Up Balance before being applied to your premium installments. Payment plans for True Up balances are only available through the Ohio Attorney General’s office following an application process. If this year’s True Up caught you by surprise, next year consider running a mock report in May or June to help your company prepare for any balance that may be owed. The payroll classifications and totals reported this summer will be used to determine your 2025 policy year premiums. For the 2024 policy year that will begin soon, BWC will be using payroll projections based on your True Up from July 2023. Adjustments to your estimated payroll can also be made throughout the year by contact
BWC Deadlines and Program Changes
With the BWC policy year coming to a close at the end of June, here are some reminders for upcoming deadlines that may apply to your policy. If you have any questions about these programs or deadlines, please reach out to your Client Services Manager at Spooner Inc. May 31 Drug Free Safety Program application deadline for 2024 policy year Transitional Work Bonus application deadline for 2024 policy year* June 21 First premium installment due for 2024 policy year June 28 Deadline for Grow Ohio safety requirements for newer policyholders whose coverage became effective between July 1 and December 31 of 2023 *The Transitional Work Program is slated to end on 7/1/2025 for private employers and on 1/1/2025 for public employers. We’ll have more information on this as it becomes
Preparing for BWC True Up
The end of the Ohio BWC policy year will be ending on June 30th, which means it’s time to start thinking about your payroll True Up. Whether you’re an employer who reported late, not at all, or were unable to pay a resulting balance – you’re one of thousands who may have been removed from Group Rating, Group Retro or several other programs as a result. BWC takes timely reporting and balance payment very seriously, so it’s important that Ohio employers do as well! Most employers are familiar with the process and requirements by now, but here’s a recap for new policyholders and the uninitiated: BWC’s policy year runs July 1 through June 30. Ohio BWC uses payroll from two years prior to determine your premiums. If you’re a new policyholder, the payroll projection made on your application is used to calculate premiums. When the policy year ends, policyholders have from July 1 until August 15 to report their actual payroll from the past policy year Actual payroll is compared to projections that your premiums were based on, and there are three potential outcomes: break even, the employer owes BWC or BWC owes the employer. Any balance owed by the employer must be paid at the time of reporting to be considered current and in good standing. There are currently no options for payment plans outside of the balance being turned over to the Ohio Attorney General’s office. BWC’s billing hierarchy d
Should We Cover Independent Contractors for Workers' Comp?
Don’t let the 1099 fool you. Just because your company doesn’t send these workers a W-2 doesn’t mean you shouldn’t cover them for workers’ compensation in Ohio. You may be thinking, “We’re not concerned – all of our 1099ers have a certificate of coverage from BWC.” Ok, so they knew that they had to manually elect coverage for themselves if they’re an LLC filing as a sole corp right? It can be more complicated than it appears on the surface, but we’re here to help you get a handle on it. Keep in mind this is not legal advice. If you have specific situations about classifying workers, you can always reach out to us, but sometimes it’s best to follow up with an employment attorney. Navigating the world of gig workers can be tricky, but just ask Ugicom – it’s best to classify workers correctly from the beginning. A lot of employers will casually mention that they don’t have to cover certain workers as employees for workers’ comp, because these people are independent contractors. Unless they come and go as they please with no schedule parameters, don’t utilize company vehicles or other property, and you have no say in the work they perform - they may in fact be independent contractors. If you can’t confidently tick all of those boxes, it may be time to reevaluate. When Ohio BWC performs a payroll audit, the
Ohio BWC Expands Dividend To Employers with Late 2019 True-Ups
Some previously ineligible Ohio employers will soon be receiving dividends from Ohio BWC totaling 372.46% of their 2019 policy year premiums. Gov. Mike DeWine made a request to BWC’s board of directors to distribute dividends to roughly 3,000 policyholders who had not initially met the eligibility requirement of completing their True Up in a timely fashion. BWC announced on September 24 that their board had moved to approve this measure, releasing another $30 million in funds to be divided amongst these remaining employers. Historically, when BWC has announced a dividend – a policy must be current and in good standing to receive their portion, which includes having completed their “True Up” process prior to the August 15 deadline each year. Businesses that fall under this eligibility expansion will be contacted directly by BWC regarding the dividend. Remember that any current premium balance due will be deducted from the dividend amount before the check is issued. BWC has issued over $9 billion in dividends to Ohio employers since
2020 Policy Year True Up Reminder!
It’s a wrap on the 2020 policy year, which means you should be submitting your company’s annual payroll True Up to BWC. True Up is a process required by Ohio BWC at the end of each policy year, where your premiums based on projected payroll are balanced with premiums based on your actual payroll for the past year. Compliance with both the reporting and payment of any balances affects your company’s eligibility for most savings programs. The “deadline” to submit your payroll true-up reports on the Ohio BWC website is August 15th – but there are some finer details to consider. August 15 falls on a Sunday, which makes the deadline Friday August 13, realistically speaking. We’ve also learned that historically, you should allow 24 hours for posting – which makes the real deadline Thursday August 12. You will also need to pay any applicable balances if your payroll was higher than what the Ohio BWC estimated for the period of July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. Balances are expected to be paid during the designated reporting period, but there is a small grace period on both reporting and payments. If you are unable to pay the entire balance at the end of the reporting process, please note that any future payments will first be applied to your delinquent True Up Balance before being applied to your premium installments. Payment plans for True Up balances are only available through the Ohio Attorney
Preparing for True Up Following an Unprecedented Year
Starting July 1st, 2020, the BWC reduced every employer’s payroll by 20%. They did so under the assumption that all employers experienced slow-downs, lay-offs and closures during the initial impact of COVID-19 on Ohio businesses. However, they did not confirm these reductions with policyholders – and we know that not all businesses experienced a decrease. This reduction might result in an unexpected True Up balance July. True Up is a process required by Ohio BWC at the end of each policy year, where your premiums based on projected payroll are balanced with premiums based on your actual payroll for the past year. Compliance with both the reporting and payment of any balances affects your company’s eligibility for most savings programs. If your actual payroll was higher than projected, you will be expected to pay that balance to Ohio BWC no later than August 15th. If you are unable to pay the lump sum at that time, please note that any future premium installments will first be applied to your delinquent True Up Balance before being applied to your premium installments. Payment plans for True Up balances are only available through the Ohio Attorney General’s office following an application process. With the final installments for the 2020-2021 policy year being billed any day now, it is unlikely that you have time to make adjustments prior to the end of the policy year on 6/30/21. However, you can run a mock True Up based on
