Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault insurance program which provides employees who become injured or ill at the workplace coverage of medical costs and partial wage replacement. It consists of a unique program in each state and a series of programs for federal employees.
Benefits, Costs, and Coverage – 2021 Data
The 26th annual workers’ compensation report produced by the Academy provides the only comprehensive data on workers’ compensation benefits, coverage, and employer costs for the nation, the states, the District of Columbia, and federal programs. With a five-year study period spanning 2017-2021, this is the second annual report to cover the COVID-19 pandemic period, which permits an early understanding of the adaptation of workers’ compensation to the pandemic and general reversions to pre-pandemic trends.
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Benefits, Costs, and Coverage
February 2024
The 26th annual workers’ compensation report produced by the Academy provides the only comprehensive data on workers’ compensation benefits, coverage, and employer costs for the nation, the states, the District of Columbia, and federal programs. With a five-year study period spanning 2017-2021, this is the second annual report to cover the COVID-19 pandemic period, which permits an early understanding of the adaptation of workers’ compensation to the pandemic and general reversions to pre-pandemic trends. The report includes 19 tables, 7 figures, and 5 appendices detailing outcomes related to workers’ compensation benefits, costs, and coverage.
November 2022
The 25th annual workers’ compensation report produced by the Academy provides the only comprehensive data on workers’ compensation benefits, coverage, and employer costs for the nation, the states, the District of Columbia, and federal programs. This is the first annual report to include data reflecting the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a five-year study period from 2016 to 2020. The report includes 19 tables, 7 figures, and 5 appendices detailing outcomes related to workers’ compensation benefits, costs, and coverage.
October 2021
The 24th annual report provides the only comprehensive data on workers’ compensation benefits, coverage, and employer costs for the nation, the states, the District of Columbia, and federal programs over a five-year study period of 2015 – 2019.
Workers’ Compensation & COVID-19
May 2020
The U.S. workers’ compensation system in its current form is complex, opaque and fragmented. Unlike other social insurance programs, it is wholly administered at the state level, and there is neither federal oversight nor any federal mandate that sets out minimum standards.
June 2020
The online discussion was anchored by several brief presentations on each area, with a Q&A moderated by Bill Arnone, Chief Executive Officer. Participants contributed questions throughout the webinar.
Latest on Workers’ Compensation
May 16, 2022
This Workers’ Compensation Issue Spotlight explains how the federal Black Lung Program provides benefits to workers with a variety of debilitating lung conditions resulting from work in coal mines. The brief explores the forces driving increases in rates of black lung, why benefits are declining, and the Program’s financial challenges.
February 11, 2022
Fifty years after the bipartisan Commission’s report revealed 19 high-priority policy suggestions, including potential federal intervention, state WC laws remain weak and disparate.
February 9, 2020
This issue brief examines the relationship between work injuries, workers’ compensation, and opioid-related overdose deaths.
September 11, 2020
Workers’ compensation experts have expressed concern in recent years about the impact of decades of state cost-cutting measures and resulting uneven and increasingly inadequate benefits for injured workers.[1] Indeed, a ProPublica investigation reveals the steep decline in compensation for disabling injuries, including cutting off benefits long before many workers have recovered and refusing coverage for necessary aspects of care:
Disparities Across States
May, 2020
The U.S. workers’ compensation system in its current form is complex, opaque and fragmented. Unlike other social insurance programs, it is wholly administered at the state level, and there is neither federal oversight nor any federal mandate that sets out minimum standards.
November 2020
States’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to workers’ compensation policy will likely prove an important factor in providing critical support to workers while protecting employers from liability.
October, 2019
Over the past ten years, Ohio has experienced a larger decrease in Workers’ Compensation benefits per $100 of payroll than all but one other state.
October, 2019
In 2003, Florida passed sweeping changes to workers’ compensation laws. These changes led to both reductions in employee benefits and improved conditions for insurance carriers, trends that largely continue through 2013-2017, the period studied for this year’s report on Workers’ Compensation Benefits, Costs, and Coverage.