It Is What It Is — Or Is It? — Disparities in Disability Incidence across and within Industries

In 1990, the Upjohn Institute published important research showing that there was a greater variation in workers’ compensation claims within industries than between industries. The major finding of the research: significant opportunities exist to improve safety for employers within industries – employers weren't just stuck with risk they couldn't do anything about.

Since we started IBI in 1995, I've wondered if there is similar variability in disability experience across industries. This issue is particularly germane for employers since the incidence of short-term disability claims is about seven times that of lost-time workers’ compensation claims nationwide and thus a key part of employer health and productivity costs.