10/04/2007
An NFIB-supported law enacted in 1994 has saved Pennsylvania businesses nearly $270 million in workers' compensations premiums and helped to reduce workplace injuries and deaths to record-low levels, according to the director of the state's Workers' Compensation Bureau.
Under the terms of the 1994 law, employers with five or more workers who establish and maintain certified workplace safety committees are entitled to a 5 percent discount on their workers' compensation premiums. About 7,200 businesses employing about 1 million workers participate in the program.
The safety committees established as part of the workers' compensation reforms have resulted in record-low workplace injuries and fatalities during periods when more Pennsylvanians are working than ever before.
Small-business owners today rank workers' compensation issues as their third biggest problem. Increased medical costs, increases in the number of claims, frivolous injury claims, the cost of litigation and exorbitant administrative costs all combine to make workers' compensation costs a huge burden to small businesses.
For information or to apply online for a workplace safety certification, please visit the state's workplace safety Web site.
