Workers’ Compensation Bureau of California Profiles Restaurant Industry

Restaurants make up a sizable portion of California’s workers’ comp system, a new report shows.

The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California released the first report in its industry profile series, which examines an industry sector in the state’s workers’ comp system. The first report in this series gives a comprehensive overview of the restaurant industry in California.

The report is available in the Research section of the WCIRB website.

The state’s restaurant industry is most concentrated in the Bay Area, Los Angeles Basin and San Diego areas. The restaurant industry in California comprises 52,000 workers’ comp policies involving restaurant operations in Classifications 9079(1), Restaurants or Taverns, and 9079(2), Concessionaries, and roughly 10,000 policies involving operations in Classifications 8078(1), Sandwich Shops, 8078(2), Beverage Preparation Shops, and 8078(3), Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt Shops.

These classifications generate more than 7% of all California workers’ comp premiums, the report shows. The advisory pure premium rates approved by the Insurance Commissioner for Classifications 9079 and 8078 have largely been higher than the statewide average, driven by higher claim frequency in the restaurant industry, according to the WCIRB.

Classification 9079 encompasses segments of the industry that include counter service restaurants, bars and taverns and other restaurants, predominantly sit-down restaurants with waitstaff. Counter service restaurants with long hours, which tend to be fast food chain restaurants, have higher claim frequency than other types of restaurant operations, according to the WCIRB.

Topics California Workers' Compensation Talent