Workers' compensation assessment rate for New York State lowered to 7.1% for 2025

The workers' compensation assessment rate for New York has been lowered for 2025, resulting in an estimated $191 million in potential savings for employers, according to state officials.

The assessment rate will decrease to 7.1% next year from 9.2% in 2024, reducing workers’ compensation costs for employers, the governor’s office announced last week. The decrease marks the sixth straight year of declines since 2019, according to the state's Workers' Compensation Board.

Assessment rates set the fees employers are required to pay to cover operating costs for the workers’ compensation insurance program.

“This tremendous increase in savings for New York State’s employers not only adds employment opportunities, but also strengthens the necessary services and the community that businesses provide,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement.

“We are dedicated to supporting our state’s businesses and their employees and ensuring that they receive the benefits they rely on to care for themselves and for their families,” Hochul said.

More than 750,000 employers throughout the state were required to have workers’ compensation insurance coverage as of last year. The savings under the reduced rate averages out to roughly $255 per employer.

Workers' compensation is a form of insurance employers pay that gives cash benefits to employees injured on the job, or to those that develop an illness because of their work. Medical care can also be included in benefits.

Under the workers' compensation insurance program, such workers can — depending on factors such as their weekly wages and the severity of their disability — receive up to two-thirds of the state's weekly average wage, which adds up to $1,171.46.

“Assessments on employers have continued to decline, while benefits to workers have climbed in recent years,” Clarissa Rodriguez, chair of the Workers’ Compensation Board, said in a statement. Assessment rates are set and overseen by the board.

“We are proud of the work we are doing to build a better workers’ compensation system for the hardworking New Yorkers and businesses we serve,” Rodriguez said.

Employers in the state pay premiums to insurance providers to fund the workers' compensation program. The premiums employers pay are determined by regulations and the relative risk of a job, among other factors.

“This is definitely a benefit for employers as the rate is being decreased for the sixth straight year,” said Jonathan Klee, managing partner at Klee Woolf Goldman & Filpi LLP in Mineola. “It just shows that the Workers’ Compensation Board is streamlining and being more efficient in the costs of maintaining the workers’ comp system in New York.”

However, Klee, an attorney who represents employees in compensation cases, said a reduction in the assessment rate doesn’t necessarily mean all employers would benefit equally. Each employer, depending on their industry and other factors, is assigned a classification that largely determines their insurance premiums.

“This is separate from the premium,” Klee said. “The premium is primarily based on job classification and the assumed risk of that job. An office worker is going to have a lower premium than someone who is dealing in construction.”