Louisiana Ranked No. 2 in Worker Safety

The rate of work-related injuries and illnesses among Louisiana’s private sector employers improved in 2015 to the best level in 14 years, the Louisiana Workforce Commission reported.

That’s according to a federal Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, the LWC said.

The survey showed Louisiana improved to 1.9 incidents per 100 full-time workers, down from 2.0 in 2014. The national average was 3.0.

Louisiana ranked first among 41 participating states, trailing only the District of Columbia for the rate of non-fatal, workplace-related injuries and illnesses. Louisiana has continuously been below the national average since the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration revised its record-keeping rules in 2002.

The state’s injury and illness rate showed improvement in multiple industry sectors. Among the leaders:

• Real estate and rental and leasing — down 0.9 incidents per 100 full-time workers from 2014
• Retail trade — down 0.6 incidents per 100 workers
• Professional, scientific, and technical services — down 0.5 incidents per 100 workers
• Management of companies and enterprises — down 0.4 incidents per 100 workers
• Transportation and warehousing — down 0.4 incidents per 100 workers
• Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction — down 0.3 incidents per 100 workers
• Manufacturing — down 0.3 incidents per 100 workers.

The Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) earlier this year reported that workers’ compensation rates in Louisiana are set to decline for the fourth consecutive year. The National Council of Compensation Insurance has recommended a reduction of an additional 9.8 percent for 2017, the department said.

At 22.4 percent in 2015, Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corp. holds the largest percentage of the workers’ comp market in the state.

Luba Casualty Insurance Co. had the next highest market share in 2015 — 7.9 percent — according to a market share report released by LDI.