Research shows that employees with shorter tenure are more likely to be involved in work-related injuries, potentially due to newer employees being less skilled and less aware of safety practices than more experienced employees. A 2016 WCIRB study also highlighted a decline in the average tenure of injured workers during a period of increased claim frequency.

More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic further affected employment dynamics, with significant shifts observed between 2020 and 2022. Many shorter-tenured employees lost jobs in 2020, and subsequently, some gained jobs in the same industry while others entered new industries. The recent changes in the labor market and employee tenure may have long-term impacts on work-related injuries.

The WCIRB has conducted a study of employee tenure focusing on several key areas, including a comparison of shifts in employee tenure among injured workers and those among California workers and relative claim frequency and claim characteristics by tenure. For the purpose of this study, employee tenure is defined as the length of time that an employee has been employed by their current employer. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) has released a new report, Impacts of Employee Tenure on Workers’ Compensation Claim Frequency in California.

Highlights of the report include:

About 40% of workers’ compensation claims come from workers with <1 year of tenure. Service-providing industries have a higher share of claims from these short-tenured workers than other industries.
– – From 2020 to 2022, all industry groups experienced a rise in the share of claims from workers with <1 year of tenure, largely driven by a strong labor market with increased job openings. This might have resulted in a higher number of new hires with less experience or training, who were more susceptible to work- related injuries.
– – Workers with longer tenure tend to have a higher share of cumulative trauma (CT) indemnity claims, mostly because it takes time for CT injuries to occur. Health care & education and office workers with increased tenure tend to have a higher likelihood of CT injuries than workers in other industries.
– – Workers with <1 year of tenure are more than 2X as likely to have a claim relative to the statewide average, largely driven by those in physical labor and service-providing industries.
– – Workers with <1 year of tenure are more likely to have fall, struck or cut injuries, while longer-tenured workers tend to have more strain injuries.
– – Workers with longer tenure tend to have a higher share of cumulative trauma (CT) indemnity claims, mostly because it takes time for CT injuries to occur. Health care & education and office workers with increased tenure tend to have a higher likelihood of CT injuries than workers in other industries.
– – For injured workers aged 16-34, the share of indemnity claims involving temporary disability (TD) only decreases with increased tenure; however, the share of claims involving permanent disability (PD) increases. The correlation between tenure and both TD and PD weakens for older workers within the 35-54 and 55+ age groups.
– – After adjusting for age, the average incurred losses on indemnity claims, valued at approximately 18 months from policy inception, are generally higher for longer-tenured workers.

Members of the WCIRB Actuarial and Research Teams will host a free webinar to discuss this new report on Thursday, April 18, 2024, 10:00-11:00 AM PT. The WCIRB presenters are Julia Zhang, PhD, Vice President, Data Analytics and Sean Cooper, FCAS, MAAA, Executive Vice President and Chief Actuary.

Click on this registration link to sign up.