Previously, the Bureau had billed state fund employers retrospectively for the prior six months of workers' compensation coverage. However, beginning July 1, 2015, for private employers and January 1, 2016, for public employers, the Bureau will begin billing prospectively for Ohio state fund employers.

That does not mean that employers will have to pay twice on July 1, 2015. As part of the transition effective July 1, 2015 for private employers, the employer will receive a credit that will cover the August payroll report (covering the premium for January through June of 2015) as well as the first two months of prospective premiums (July and August of 2015).

This credit will prevent employers from being double billed while transitioning from paying in arrears to paying in advance. The transition program will result in private state fund employers and local governments receiving credit on their workers' compensation bills totaling 1.2 billion dollars as part of the Ohio BWC's “Billion Back” plan.

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Martin J. Boetcher is a labor and employment lawyer in Youngstown, Ohio.