Purpose

The purpose of this performance audit is to determine whether the Workers’ Compensation Board (Board) has adequate procedures in place to accurately report its assessable expenses related to administration of Sections 50(5), 151, and 228 of the Workers’ Compensation Law and Section 60 of both the Volunteer Firefighters’ and the Volunteer Ambulance Workers’ Benefit Laws. We performed our audit pursuant to legislative mandates included in these statutes, which direct that the Comptroller and the Chair of the Board ascertain the annual amount of expenses incurred in the administration of these Laws. Our audit covered the period April 1, 2011 through March 31, 2013.

Background

The primary responsibility of the Board is to ensure that employees who are unable to work due to injury or illness are compensated under programs covering both occupational and nonoccupational disabilities and sickness. Coverage for these benefits, with limited exception, is to be provided by employers. The Board is also responsible for tracking its costs to administer the Workers’ Compensation Program (Program) and assessing these costs on participating insurance carriers, self-insurers, and self-insured political subdivisions of the State.

Key Findings

• The Board has adequate procedures in place ensure that it accurately identifies and reports its assessable expenses in all material respects.
• The Board made minor calculation errors in the fiscal year 2011-12 assessment, resulting in a net understatement of $144,592 in the total assessment of about $204 million. The errors were partially attributable to insufficient staff training.
• The Board lacks a formal review process to ensure the procedures for preparing the assessment are properly executed and monitored.

Key Recommendations

• Ensure the adjustments noted in this report are included in the 2013-14 assessment.
• Provide additional training on procedures affecting self-insurance expense calculations.
• Implement a formal supervisory review process to ensure assessment procedures are properly executed and monitored.

Other Related Audits/Reports of Interest

Workers’ Compensation Board: Statement of Assessable Expenses for the Three Fiscal Years Ended March 31, 2011 (2012-S-71)
Workers’ Compensation Board: Controls Over Cash Advance Accounts (2014-S-12)