Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation Approves Dividend Expansion
Directors of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation have approved an expansion of the agency's $5 billion dividend, declared in December 2020, to about 3,000 employers that did not meet original eligibility requirements.
The expansion, requested by Gov. Mike DeWine, allows for about $30 million to go to the previously ineligible employers, BWC said in a news release. Those employers, "through no fault of their own, could not perform their 2019 'True-Up' in the timeframe for the dividend return," according to BWC. The True-Up provides to the state verification of companies' employment.
BWC said it will communicate directly with employers now eligible for the dividend. It will first apply the dividend to an employer's unpaid premium balance, then send a check for the rest. Employers that receive the dividend may receive an IRS 1099 tax form in January 2022. (Employers can go here for information about the dividend.)
"We are pleased that our financial position allows us to expand this dividend to those previously ineligible employers," said BWC Administrator/CEO Stephanie McCloud in a statement. "The pandemic has not been easy on any of us, and it is our hope this will help ease the financial burden."
BWC's board has authorized more than $9.2 billion in dividends to Ohio employers since 2019.