The Washington Department of Labor & Industries announced that, as proposed, employer workers' compensation insurance premiums will decrease by an average of 5% for 2019, the largest drop since 2007. The new rates take effect at the beginning of the year.

Employers will pay an average of about $58 less per employee for 2019. Workers will also pay less, with their share of the cost dropping by about $6 a year. As a result of the reduction, as a group, workers and employers will pay $136 million less in premiums in 2019.

A 2.5% decrease was in effect for 2018, the first decline in workers' compensation rates since 2007. The 5% rate decrease for 2019 is an average. Individual employers may see their rates go up or down, depending on their recent claims history and changes in the frequency and cost of claims in their industry.

Washington is the only state where workers contribute a substantial portion of the premium charge. For 2019, workers will continue to pay on average about 25% of the premium, similar to 2015–2018.

The Department has published rate tables online. Businesses are classified by risk classes, based on hazards in the industry. Out of the state's 324 risk classes, 273 will have lower base rates in 2019.

Note, however, that the supplemental pension rate (a premium for the fund that pays cost-of-living increases for pensions) is increasing 8.7% to 11.2 cents per hour, up from 10.3 cents for 2018 (see the Department's FAQ #5). For many of the lower-rated risk classes, the supplemental pension rate is a significant portion of the rate and will cause an overall increase to the class rate even though other parts of the rate are decreasing. Employers may deduct from workers' wages up to half of the supplemental pension premium rate.

The Department offers employers a Claim-Free Discount that can lower their average base rate by 10% or more.

See the Department's FAQs for more about the 2019 rates.

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