Guest Blogger Sarah Carter – Ohio BWC Workplace Wellness Program Grant

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The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (“BWC”) provides a grant to help employers develop a workplace wellness program with the goals of: (1) reducing the cost of workers' compensation claims; and (2) lowering health care costs for businesses by improving the health and wellness of the workforce.



To be eligible for this grant you must: (1) be a state-fund employer; (2) be current on funds owed to the BWC; (3) maintain active coverage; and (4) not already have a wellness program. The program consists of two components: (1) a health risk appraisal (“HRA”) with a biometric assessment that measures health risk factors; and (2) solutions designed to address the risk factors. If you have only one of these tools in place, then you do not have a full wellness program and are eligible to apply for the grant.



If you are approved for a grant, you will be required to contract with a third party wellness program vendor, comply with fund usage guidelines, and complete other conditions established by the BWC, such as data sharing. Your business may receive $300 per participating employee over a four-year period, up to a maximum amount of $15,000 per policy. The BWC defines a “participating employee” as someone who completes an HRA and biometric assessment in the first three months of the program and each of the following years of the program. Employees must also participate in at least one activity to enhance or maintain their health in each program year.



If you have any questions about these BWC grant programs, Sarah Carter can be reached at (937) 223-1130 or scarter@pselaw.com.



AND ONE MORE THING.  The IRS has issued a reminder to taxpayers that, as a result of changes made by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, IRA owners who are age 70-1/2 and older have until Jan. 31, 2013, to make tax-free transfers to eligible charities and treat these transfers as if they were made on Dec. 31, 2012.  Additionally, eligible IRA owners who received a distribution in December of 2012 can transfer any portion of that distribution to a charitable organization by Jan. 31, 2013, and treat it as made in 2012.  Call or email Jeff Senney at 937-223-1130 or Jsenney@pselaw.com.