New York employers to save about $53M with lower workers’-compensation rate in 2024, state says

ALBANY, N.Y. — The state government says New York employers are expected to save more than $50 million in 2024 due to a reduction in the annual workers’-compensation assessment rate.

The rate was set Nov. 1 and goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

For 2024, the workers’-compensation assessment rate will be 9.2 percent of the standard premium or premium equivalent, a 6 percent decrease from 2023, which is expected to save New York State businesses about $53 million.

Employers pay an annual assessment to operate the New York State workers’-compensation system, which provides benefits to workers who are injured or become ill because of their job, while protecting employers from costly lawsuits, the state says.

The projected savings will reduce the current assessment costs for all New York employers. It will be “especially helpful” to more than 400,000 small businesses across the state, Hochul’s office contends.

“As New York employers continue to grapple with rising costs and inflation, this assessment rate decrease will translate to meaningful savings for small businesses and keep hard-earned money in New Yorkers’ pockets,” Hochul said in a news release.

The chair of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board establishes an assessment rate for all employers by Nov. 1 of each year, to be effective on Jan. 1 of the subsequent calendar year.