California Glazier Class Codes 5467 vs 5470 and the $43.00 Threshold

Sep 7

5 min read

Quick answer: 5467 vs 5470 in California

5467 is the low-wage code and 5470 the high-wage code for glaziers working away from the shop. For policies incepting on or after September 1, 2026, the wage split moves from $39.00 to $43.00 per hour. The approved pure premium rates effective 9/1/2026 are $7.514 for 5467 and $3.349 for 5470, so the low-wage code costs about 124% more per $100 of payroll. Source: WCIRB Classification Search, codes 5467 and 5470, pure premium rates effective 9/1/2026. Verified September 7, 2026 by CPR Business Solutions.

Will we write it? Tell us the operation, the state, and roughly where the mod sits — we’ll come back within one business day with a straight answer: yes, no, or what we’d need to see. No ACORD, no loss runs, no obligation. Agents and business owners both welcome. Run it past us here.

The glaziers who just became low-wage

A glazier earning $41.00 an hour was a high-wage employee under the old $39.00 threshold and was reported in 5470. From September 1, 2026 the threshold is $43.00, so the same person at the same wage doing the same work is now reported in 5467. Nothing about the risk changed. The cost did.

At a 1.00 mod over 2,000 hours, that employee’s workers’ comp goes from about $2,746 to about $6,161 — an increase of $3,415, or 124%. At a 1.75 mod the same worker goes from roughly $4,806 to $10,783. On a crew of ten in that wage band, at a 1.75 mod, that is about $60,000 of additional annual premium for no change in payroll.

Which code is which

5470 — high wage. Installation of glass panes or insulated glass units within framework on residential or commercial buildings, including incidental framework installation and job-site glass cutting by employees whose regular hourly wage equals or exceeds $43.00.
5467 — low wage. The same operations for employees below $43.00, and for any employee whose wage the employer cannot verify with time records — undocumented payroll defaults to the low-wage code.
Curtain wall and window replacement are the same code. The classification does not distinguish a ten-story commercial curtain-wall crew from a residential window installer — underwriters do, so describe the work on the submission.

Rate history

5467 went from $6.850 (9/1/2024) to $7.140 (9/1/2025) to $7.514 (9/1/2026) — up 5.2% this cycle. 5470 rose faster: $2.560 to $2.820 to $3.349, up 18.8%, the largest percentage increase of any high-wage code in the finish trades. Even so the gap is 124% — after carpentry and steel framing, the widest in the dual-wage table — and the threshold moved $4.00 at the same time.

When the raise pays for itself

Per 2,000-hour employee at a 1.00 mod, raising to $43.00 from:

$40.00 — raise costs $6,000 in wages, premium falls $3,131. Net cost $2,869.
$41.00 — raise costs $4,000 in wages, premium falls $3,281. Net cost $719.
$42.00 — raise costs $2,000 in wages, premium falls $3,432. Net saving $1,432.
$42.50 — raise costs $1,000 in wages, premium falls $3,507. Net saving $2,507.

Break-even is about $41.33 per hour at a 1.00 mod, before payroll taxes on the raise. Anyone at $41.50 or above should be moved to $43.00 before the policy incepts — the gap is wide enough that the raise pays across a $1.67 band.

A worse mod lowers the break-even

0.90 mod — $41.49
1.00 mod — $41.33
1.25 mod — $40.95
1.50 mod — $40.59
1.75 mod — $40.23
2.00 mod — $39.89

At a 1.75 mod a glazier at $42.99 costs $48.64 an hour all-in. At $43.00 they cost $45.52 — $6,246 per FTE per year for one cent of wage. Mod cleanup takes three years; reclassification takes one payroll run. If the mod itself is the problem, that is a separate placement question.

Classification carve-outs for glazing

Prefabricated doors, door frames and pre-glazed windows go to 5107, Door, Door Frame or Pre-Glazed Window Installation — unless the same employer framed the structure at that job, in which case they follow the framing into carpentry 5403/5432 or steel framing 5632/5633.
Incidental framework installed by the glazier to hold the glass stays in 5467/5470; it does not pull the crew into a framing code.
Shop work is not this pair. 5467/5470 is “away from shop” — glass cutting and fabrication in the glazier’s own shop is separately classified.

What else lands on the same renewal

September 1, 2026 is a crowded date: all sixteen dual-wage thresholds move, the advisory pure premium level rises 10.4%, and the experience rating eligibility threshold goes to $11,700. Pull the 5467/5470 payroll split on the expiring term versus the quoted term, and a list of employees within a few dollars of $43.00. That second list is where the decisions are.

One honest caveat

These are WCIRB approved pure premium rates — advisory benchmarks, not the rates any carrier charges. California is an open-rating state; every insurer files its own rates and applies its own schedule and experience modifications. The shape of the 5467/5470 gap holds across the market because the loss data underneath is the same, but the exact break-even for a given account depends on the carrier’s filed rates and the client’s mod. Run it on the real quote.

Glazier class code FAQ

What is the California class code for glaziers?

5467 for employees paid under $43.00 an hour and 5470 for employees at or above $43.00, for policies incepting on or after September 1, 2026. The pair covers installation of glass panes and insulated glass units within framework on residential and commercial buildings, away from the shop.

Is window replacement the same class code as commercial glazing?

Yes. Residential window replacement and commercial curtain-wall work are both 5467/5470. The exposures are very different and underwriters price them differently within the code, so the submission should describe the actual work.

Why is the glazier low-wage rate more than double the high-wage rate?

5467 at $7.514 versus 5470 at $3.349 is a 124% gap — after carpentry and steel framing, the widest in the dual-wage table. The split is a proxy for injury frequency in the lower-wage group, which is why one dollar of wage at the $43.00 line moves the premium so far.

Placing California glazing accounts

CPR Business Solutions is a wholesale workers’ compensation broker and MGA built around high-mod and hard-to-place accounts. If a glazing client has just seen payroll reclassify from 5470 to 5467, has a mod above 1.50, or has been non-renewed after an audit, that is the account we want.

Call 714-928-3858 or email proposals@cprbrokers.com.