Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission Votes to Reduce MITF Assessment

The Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission announced that it voted this spring to reduce the Multiple Injury Trust Fund assessment on workers’ compensation coverage providers from 7% to 6.29%.

This is the first reduction in five years, the WCC said. The commission said the reduction follows the 2019 legislative authorization of a temporary emergency maximum rate to stabilize the fund after it was unable to meet its obligations to permanently disabled Oklahomans in late 2018.

The decision follows a comprehensive review of the prior year’s total workers’ compensation premiums written to employers and actual paid losses of self-insured employers, the WCC said. The commission determined that current fund conditions are healthy and support a reduction in the rate.

“We are seeing the positive impact of the 2019 legislative reforms, which stabilized the MITF, reduced long-term liabilities, and ensured the MITF’s sustainability,” said Jordan Russell, Chair of the WCC.

The MITF was founded in 1943 as a second injury fund to provide employers with protection from liability associated with hiring workers with pre-existing disabilities, according to the state of Oklahoma. MITF pays 90% of Oklahoma’s permanent disability.