North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance

ABOUT US North Dakota Workforce Safety Insurance (WSI) is an exclusive, employer financed, no-fault insurance state fund covering workplace injuries and deaths. As the sole provider and administrator of the workers’ compensation system in North Dakota, WSI’s vision is a safe, secure, and healthy North Dakota workforce. Our core purpose is to care for injured workers. When employees are injured on the job, our highest priority is helping them regain their health and getting them back to work. WSI’s goal is to have a dedicated and caring staff, emphasizing servant leadership. Our shared values are to be loyal, caring, and forthright. These values guide our organization and help us stay true to our vision. WSI staff work hard to serve others first and provide the best services and solutions for our customers. WSI also believes that by encouraging safety programs we can prevent injuries from happening. Every North Dakota employee deserves a safe work environment and every employer deserves to have healthy employees on the job. We believe this is possible through safety consultations, education and training, safety incentive programs, safety grants and continual focus on workplace safety by employers and employees. WSI is committed to helping employers and employees recognize and correct safety hazards, preventing workplace injuries. WSI is proud of the role it plays in ensuring a prosperous workforce that fills a valuable role in the economic health of North Dakota’s economy. AGENCY HISTORY In 1919, the 16th North Dakota Legislative Assembly created the Workmen’s Compensation Bureau. Its purpose was to provide “sure and certain relief regardless of questions of fault to the exclusion of every other remedy, proceeding or compensation.” The intent of the law was to provide relief to workers injured while on the job. This relief would be in the form of compensation for lost earnings and payment of medical bills incurred. It was anticipated that the law would help employers by eliminating the risk of damaging lawsuits by injured employees. Today North Dakota Workforce Safety Insurance (WSI) remains an exclusive, employer financed, no-fault insurance state fund covering workplace injuries, illnesses, and death. In North Dakota, WSI is the sole provider and administrator of the workers’ compensation system. North Dakota is one of four “exclusive” state funds in the country (the other three are Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming). This means that all employers must purchase workers’ compensation insurance from WSI rather than from private insurance companies. In the other 46 states and the District of Columbia, employers have the option to either buy workers’ compensation insurance from private insurance companies and competitive state funds or to self-insure. In November 2008, voters in North Dakota returned control of WSI back to the Governor, who now appoints the agency’s Executive Director.