HR outlines insurance, workers’ comp and increased background checks as personnel costs climb

Human Resources Director Lisa Camarada walked committee members through HR’s FY2027 requests on May 19, focusing on health insurance, workers’ compensation, unemployment and personnel‑related shifts that affect the city’s staffing costs.

Camarada said the city has been with the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission (GIC) since 2012 and relies on the commission’s purchasing scale to manage medical insurance costs. She said outreach and educational sessions encourage employees to select plans that meet their needs and that the city is reviewing utilization data to inform future plan and bidding decisions.

On workers’ compensation, HR described an insured program with a vendor (Maya) while acknowledging several long‑running “tail” claims predate that contract and continue to generate wage and medical obligations; the department also performs annual audits of payroll and risk codes and reported some premium refunds tied to lower actual payroll than estimated.

The city is self‑insured for unemployment compensation and reimburses the state for claims. Camarada said recent changes to maximum benefit periods and higher weekly maximums have increased budget exposure, prompting a recommended FY27 unemployment personnel allocation of $250,000.

Councilors raised the spike in state iCore criminal‑record checks. Camarada said the department broadened enforcement and awareness: volunteers, interns and seasonal employees are now being screened more consistently, and seasonal rechecks and new categories of screened workers added to counts explain the increase. Staff emphasized language support and one‑on‑one explanations to volunteers who have questions about checks.

The committee voted to recommend workers’ compensation personnel ($296,328) and unemployment personnel ($250,000) line items for council consideration during the May 19 session.