Eligibility:
Enrollment in a safety council is open to all state fund, self-insured companies and public employers in Ohio who pay premiums or administrative fees to BWC. To enroll, an employer must have active BWC coverage.
Enrollment in the safety council can occur any time of the year.
Sponsors are prohibited from requiring an employer to be a member of their organization to participate in safety council. BWC’s subsidy is intended to ensure the program is open and accessible to all Ohio employers and employees.
BWC will monitor safety council member fee structures to ensure employers’ costs remain nominal. A membership/participation cost structure based on the employer’s status in the sponsoring organization is acceptable.
Criteria:
Based on rules set forth in Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 4123-17-56.2, most employers who fulfill safety council rebate eligibility requirements can earn a 3% rebate on their workers’ compensation premium. The maximum annual rebate an employer can earn is $5,000**.
**To receive the rebate, not to exceed $5,000 annually, employers’ policies must be current with respect to all payments due to BWC. Employers may not have cumulative lapses in workers’ compensation coverage in excess of 40 days within the prior 12 months. Additionally, employers must have timely reported actual payroll for the preceding policy year and pay any premium due upon reconciliation of estimated premium and actual premium.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Join or confirm your existing, active membership in a local safety council by July 31, 2023.
- Attend 10 in-person safety council meetings between July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024. At least eight, or all 10, through attendance at local safety council sponsored monthly meetings, seminars, or special events.
- Earn external training credit for up to two meetings through attendance at select BWC safety training courses (in-person or virtual training classes) or in-person safety training from other external sources (e.g., industry associations, third party administrators, etc.).
Guidelines for Meeting Attendance Credit:
- An employer must be in attendance for most of the meeting. The safety council sponsor is the final authority on whether an employer shall be given meeting credit based on their arrival and departure times.
- The attendance of any employer representative qualifies for meeting attendance credit.
- A person can represent only one policy number with their attendance at a safety council meeting or external training event.
- No matter the duration of the meeting, training or special event, attendance equals one meeting credit. Multiple representatives from a company at one meeting, training or special event equals one meeting credit.
- Scheduling multiple events for multiple credit in one day is prohibited.
- Safety council monthly meetings do not qualify for meeting credit for any employer not enrolled in that safety council.
- Any safety council sponsored, or co-sponsored event will result in meeting credit for that safety council’s members.
- If a safety council chooses to broadcast an in-person safety council meeting virtually, the number of individuals viewing the meeting is not included in the attendance count.
Guidelines for External Training Credit:
It is the employer’s responsibility to submit an official certificate of attendance for external training credit to the safety council in which they are enrolled by June 30, 2024.
Immediately upon receipt of an external training certificate, sponsors are required to submit the certificate in the Ohio BWC Grant Management Portal.
External Training May Include:
- Ohio Safety Congress – maximum of one meeting credit per in-person event, no matter the number of sessions or days attended nor how many employer representatives in attendance.
- BWC Division of Safety & Hygiene in-person and virtual training courses – maximum of one meeting credit per course.
- Industry-specific safety training – maximum of one meeting credit per in-person training with at least one hour of safety curriculum.
- Seminars, conferences, or special events hosted by another safety council (not monthly safety council meetings).
