Description
August’s Municipal Money Matters reviews claims & payouts for city’s public safety departments.
Public Safety Departments – Workers’ Compensation Claims
The City Controller’s June 2024 Municipal Money Matters highlighted staffing shortages in several public safety departments. Noted below are the steady declines within the Police, Prisons, and Fire departments. This month, the office analyzed workers’ compensation claims within those departments as well as the Sheriff’s Office, covering FY2022 through FY2024. The City of Philadelphia is self-insured and must pay workers’ compensation claims to employees who are injured on the job while performing their duties.
In FY2024, there were 793 total claims filed with the four selected public safety departments. Most of the claims, about 40%, were filed with the Police Department. While the number of claims can be considered significant, the total is a 42% decline since FY2022, with all departments realizing fewer claims. The Police Department has almost half the number of claims than it did two years ago.
The decline in claims has resulted in less money the city has had to pay. In FY2024, the city paid $5.2 million in workers’ compensation claims. This is an 82% reduction in payouts from FY2022. The Police Department’s claims make up the bulk of the amounts paid. However, the Police paid almost $24 million less than two years ago. The Fire Department is down almost $10 million, and the Prisons Department is down $2.2 million. There are minimal claims filed against the Sheriff’s Department, resulting in smaller claim amounts.
To view full report with charts, click “View Full Report” above.