The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) is an organization whose mission is to foster a healthy workers compensation system. This week, they announced several updates related to COVID-19 and its impact on the workers compensation industry. Below are several updates that may be of interest to you. For more details, please visit the NCCI site.
Is COVID-19 compensable under state workers compensation acts?
The answer to that question is “maybe.” While workers compensation laws provide compensation for “occupational diseases” that arise out of and in the course of employment, many state statutes exclude “ordinary diseases of life” (e.g., the common cold or flu). There are occupational groups that arguably would have a higher probability for exposure such as healthcare workers. However, even in those cases, there may be uncertainty as to whether the disease is compensable.
As of now, some states have pending legislative initiatives to expand the coverage for certain workers. Other states’ legislatures are currently meeting and discussing these issues and it is expected that these states may introduce similar initiatives relative to workers compensation. As of this writing, Maryland & Delaware have not proposed any action.
Each claim will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
If my business has suspended operations due to COVID-19, but continues to pay employees, although they are at home and not working – is this payroll included in my premium calculations for workers compensation?
NCCI has expedited a rule change to address the question of payroll for employees who are being paid but are not working. If approved by state regulators, new code 0012 will be created and this payroll will not be used in the calculation of premium.
We recommend keeping accurate records of payroll for paid non-working employees in anticipation that this rule change will be approved.
I have limited operations due to COVID-19, and have placed some employees into new roles during this time. Will new classifications be assigned to these employees?
It is possible that the carrier would re-classify the employees to the code that represents their current job function. Separate payroll records must be kept for during the reassignment or the highest classification will apply at the time of audit.
Will claims related to COVID-19 be included in experience rating?
NCCI is proposing that claims attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic be excluded from experience rating. Specific reporting requirements have been established for claims attributable to COVID-19 From December 1, 2019, and subsequent. NCCI will file a rule change for the exclusion of claims identified with Catastrophe Number 12 for consideration by state insurance regulators.
