Ohio Mails $255M in Workers’ Comp Overcharges, Drops Appeal

The Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation has paid hundreds of millions to state employers overcharged for insurance premiums and has dropped its appeal of a decision that led to the payments.

The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday granted bureau administrator Steve Buehrer’s request to dismiss the state’s appeal of a long-running class-action suit that determined the bureau set up an illegal rating system resulting in employers being overcharged unfair premiums from between 2001 and 2009.

Bureau spokeswoman Melissa Vince says the state mailed 24,140 checks totaling $255 million to affected businesses in June. That represented 60 percent of the $420 million the state agreed it owed in a settlement struck last summer.

Despite promotional efforts, many small-business operators who could’ve benefited from the agreement were unaware they were covered.