Labor Code Sections 62.5 and 62.6 authorize the Department of Industrial Relations to assess employers for the costs of the administration of the workers’ compensation, health and safety and labor standards enforcement programs. These assessments provide a stable funding source to the support operations of the courts, to ensure safe and healthy working conditions on the job, to ensure the enforcement of labor standards and requirements for workers’ compensation coverage.
Labor Code Sections 62.5 and 62.6 require allocation of the six assessment types between insured and self- insured employers in proportion to payroll for the most recent year available. Enclosed with a letter is an invoice for the share of the following total assessments, and a document showing the methodology used to compute the assessment amounts and the resulting determination of the respective assessment/surcharge factors. The factors are applied to the premium amount are allocated across the following six categories:
– – Workers’ Compensation Administration Revolving Fund Assessment (WCARF) – – $ 698,761,939
– – Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund Assessment (SIBTF) – – $ 848,000,000
– – Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund Assessment (UEBTF) – – $ 53,088,800
– – Occupational Safety and Health Fund Assessment (OSHF) – – $ 189,509,130
– – Labor Enforcement and Compliance Fund Assessment (LECF) – – $ 181,983,628
– – Workers’ Compensation Fraud Account Assessment (FRAUD) – – $ 90,435,332
All workers’ compensation insurance policies issued with an inception date during the calendar year 2025 must be assessed to recover amounts advanced on behalf of policyholders. Assessable Premium is the premium the insured is charged after all rating adjustments (experience rating, schedule rating, premium discounts, expense constants, etc.) except for adjustments resulting from the application of deductible plans, retrospective rating or the return of policyholder dividends.
The assessment factors to be applied to the estimated annual assessable premium for 2025 policies are shown in the table on the notice. These are the same factors that were used to calculate the assessment.
The total assessment is calculated based on the direct workers’ compensation premiums reported to the Department of Insurance for Calendar Year 2023 by carriers. The first installment is due on or before January 1, 2025, with the balance due on or before April 1, 2025.