Worker’s Comp Increases 45% in California, Beginning 7/1/2012

 

California Worker’s Compensation Insurance premiums will increase by 45% over last year  for renewals after July 1, 2012 according to The Worker’s Comp Executive.

don't let your profit go down the drain California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones went against a unified front of labor and employer representatives siding with the insurance industry and the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) in approving a 8.3% increase mid-year rate hike for California employers.  Added to the 37% rate increase he approved for January, July and later renewals are facing an average rate increase of 45.3% over last year at the same time.

Worker’s Comp and payroll taxes take a huge bite out of a contractors profit when working on Public Works construction projects – especially if the contractor is paying the full fringe benefit rate of the prevailing wage to the employee in cash and not to the Union Hall or into bona-fide plans.

Public Works Construction and Prevailing Wage projects require advanced financial planning methods and tools along with an understanding of the ever-changing compliance requirements — so that you can reduce your overhead and get paid on time.

Join Tim Blackwell of InsuranceDude.com, Steve Kuzmack of Fringe Benefit Experts, Bruce McFarland of L & R Tax Preparation, and Nancy Smyth of Sunburst Software Solutions, Inc. for a free, live 1 hour *Google+ hangout on Tuesday June 12, 2012 from 5-6 p.m. EST where we discuss easy to understand Worker’s Comp & Payroll Tax strategies for Public Works contractors, including:

  • determining if you are paying too much for your Worker’s Comp insurance
  • how to prepare for yet another increase in Worker’s Compensation premiums, if you are a contractor in California
  • how to lower labor costs by contributing the fringe benefit rate on prevailing wage jobs into bona-fide plans
  • complying with with certified payroll reporting requirements on Federal and/or State funded construction projects — including the impact of the new Compliance Monitoring Unit (CMU) and the filing of electronic certified payroll reports through MyLCM.
  • how the tax credits from the IRS may or may not come into play when the contractor does set up a health insurance plan

If you are interested in our webinar on Worker’s Comp & Payroll Tax strategies for Public Works contractors, circle me on Google + and watch for the Hangout announcement at 5 p.m. Eastern/2 p.m. Pacific/4 Central and join us.  Hangout’s can hold up to 10 people, if it’s full you can watch it live and ask questions by typing them in the comment section below the post.  This webinar will also be streaming live on my YouTube channel, where again you can ask questions by typing them into the comment section below the video.

Did you miss this live hangout?  Not a problem, watch a recording of it below and download the slides that were shown during the hangout by clicking here.

Please note, during the first section of the recording you will see a LOT of white space, unfortunately Tim’s webcam wasn’t working – but you’ll still be able to hear him speak.