Senate Bill 5463 looks to hold Self-Insured Employers to a new duty of “good faith and fair dealings” to injured workers in the Stat of Washington. No such duty is required of self-insured employers and third-party administrators.
Currently, Workers who, in the course of employment, are injured or disabled from an occupational disease are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, which may include medical, temporary time-loss, vocational rehabilitation benefits, and permanent disability benefits. The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) administers the state’s workers’ compensation system. In Washington, all employers must provide workers’ compensation coverage for their employees either by: qualifying as a self-insurer or insuring through the state fund by paying premiums to L&I.
If, SB 5463 becomes law, it would:
- Apply the duty of good faith and fair dealing to all workers’ compensation self-insurers and third-party administrators, rather than only self-insured municipal employers, self-insured private sector firefighter employers, and their third-party administrators.
- Allow the Department of Labor and Industries to withdraw any self-insurer’s certification when the self-insurer has been found to have violated the duty of good faith and fair dealing three times within a three-year period, rather than just the certification of a municipal self-insurer.
SB 5463 was in the Senate Rules Committee as of February 13th. Learn more at www.Leg.Wa.Gov.
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