09/27/2021

Ohio BWC Board Approves Dividend Expansion

The BWC will communicate directly with eligible employers

The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) Board of Directors have approved the expansion of the agency’s December 2020 $5 billion dividend to approximately 3,000 employers who did not originally meet eligibility requirements.

The expansion was requested by Governor Mike DeWine and allows for approximately $30 million to go to the previously-ineligible employers who, through no fault of their own, could not perform their 2019 “True-Up” in the timeframe for the dividend return.

"Today's decision by the BWC board of directors will give thousands of additional employers the opportunity to invest more in their people and their products," said DeWine. "This will not only help these individual businesses, but it'll also help strengthen Ohio's economy as a whole."

The BWC will communicate directly with eligible employers. The bureau will first apply the dividend to an employer's unpaid premium balance, then send a check for the rest. Employers that receive this dividend may receive an IRS 1099 tax form in January 2022.