07/02/08 Workers' Comp Rate Increase

Workers' Comp Rates Increase. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. If you are injured on the job, the good news is that you will now be eligible for a bit more money. GILLIARD: This is basically an increase in benefits that are paid to injured workers who are injured and can't work. And every year we look at how much we are paying in these, they're called time loss benefits and they're adjusted based on the states average wage. That's Jerry Gilliard with Washington's Department of Labor and Industries who says that workers that are injured will see an increase a bit over 5%. He says that the employer rates are not yet known. GILLIARD: This is something we have to consider as we're setting premium rates, that would be for 2009 but it's hard to tell. This is just one factor in what we're going to do about rates. There have been no decisions made. Gilliard says that there are different kinds of injuries and with the recent temperature change, heat related injuries need to be addressed. GILLIARD: There are lots of limits and rules as to what represents an injury that people can be compensated for. Most injuries are accidents where someone gets let's say a broken arm or a broken leg or some kind of trauma. It might be a back injury. It has to be proven that its work related and heat stroke is one that would qualify for sure. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.