New law helps more workers receive time-loss payments for workers’ compensation

The Washington state Legislature passed a new law that would make more injured workers eligible for time loss after an injury.

Currently, workers who are injured or disabled in the course of employment are entitled to certain benefits through the workers’ compensation program, which is administered by the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I). Benefits may include medical costs, temporary wage replacement, vocational rehabilitation benefits, and permanent disabilities benefits.

A worker may be entitled to a partial replacement of wages, also referred to as time-loss compensation, if the worker is temporarily unable to work as a result of an occupational injury or disease. In order to qualify for time-loss compensation, a health care provider must certify that the worker is unable to work due to a work-related injury or illness, also referred to as a temporary total disability.

Time-loss compensation is paid to a worker only if the worker is unable to work for more than three days following the date of the injury. Further, the worker does not receive time-loss compensation for those first three days unless they are still unable to work on the (previous law) fourteenth day following the injury.

The amount of time-loss compensation is a percentage of the worker’s typical wages, adjusted based on the worker’s family status and number of dependents and subject to minimum and maximum amounts.

New Law

The new law reduces the number of days that a temporary total disability must continue to receive workers’ compensation time-loss benefits for the first three days following the injury is reduced from fourteen days to seven days.

FREE Consultation

For a FREE injury consultation with an Althauser Rayan Abbarno attorney in Centralia or Olympia, call (360) 736-1301.