The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) recently made a significant change in the way carriers are required to perform audits for all construction industry employers. Since 2001, the Industrial Welfare Commission, a branch of the CA Department of Industrial Relations, has required all California construction employers, as well as drilling, logging and mining employers, to maintain records indicating start and stop times for all employees. Beginning with policies with a start date of Jan 1st, 2008, the WCIRB is now requiring carriers to use the original start and stop time records to determine an employee’s hourly wage, a necessary component in determining dual wage classification assignments. If start and stop time records are not provided by the employer during the premium audit, carriers are prevented by the WCIRB from using the lower-priced high-wage classifications available to construction industry policyholders. As a cost-saving measure for all construction industry employers, please be sure to maintain your start and stop time records, and make the original records available to your premium auditor.
