CA WCIRB Reports on Employee Tenure Impact on Workers’ Comp Claim Frequency
Oakland, CA – The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) recently released a new report, Impacts of Employee Tenure on Workers’ Compensation Claim Frequency in California. 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… [Read more] The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) has released a report, Impacts of Employee Tenure on Workers' Compensation Claim Frequency in California. The study found that employees with shorter tenure are more likely to be involved in work-related injuries, possibly due to less skilled and less aware of safety practices than more experienced employees. This study also highlighted a decline in the average tenure of injured workers during a period of increased claim frequency. The report also noted significant shifts in employment dynamics between 2020 and 2022, with many shorter-tenured employees losing jobs and some gaining jobs in the same industry while others moving on to new industries. The changes in employee tenure may have long-term impacts on work related injuries.
Published : 4 weeks ago by WorkCompWire in
Oakland, CA – The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) recently released a new report, Impacts of Employee Tenure on Workers’ Compensation Claim Frequency in California.
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.
• About 40 percent of workers’ compensation claims come from workers with less than one year of tenure, and they are more than twice as likely to have a claim relative to the statewide average.
• Injuries differ among length of tenure too: Workers with less than a 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 indemnity claims.
• After adjusting for age, the average incurred losses on indemnity claims, valued at approximately 18 months from policy inception, are higher for longer-tenured injured workers.
The full report is available in the Research section of the WCIRB website and here:
CA WCIRB: Impacts of Employee Tenure on Workers’ Compensation Claim Frequency in California (PDF)
WCIRB Research Forum Webinar
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.
Register here: WCIRB Webinar Impacts of Employee Tenure on Workers’ Compensation Claim Frequency in California