H-4024              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1881

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

By Representative Patrick

Read first time 1/24/86 and referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

AN ACT Relating to industrial insurance; and amending RCW 51.04.080.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  Section 51.04.080, chapter 23, Laws of 1961 as amended by section 2, chapter 43, Laws of 1972 ex. sess. and RCW 51.04.080 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) On all claims under this title, claimants' written notices, orders, or warrants shall not be forwarded to, or in care of, any representative of the claimant, but shall be forwarded directly to the claimant until such time as there has been entered an order on the claim by which the claimant is aggrieved and which is appealable to the board of industrial insurance appeals.

(2) On all claims under this title, ex parte contact or communication between the department and any representative of the claimant or of the employer is prohibited without prior actual notice to all parties of the contact or communication and the subject thereof.  Such notice shall be sufficient to enable interested parties to be represented.

(3) On all claims under this title, copies of any correspondence, memoranda, reports, notices, or other writings provided by the department, the claimant, or the employer, or their respective representatives to any other party to the claim shall be provided to all other parties.

(4) Nothing contained in this section shall in any way hinder, delay, or prevent direct communication between the claimant or the employer and the department.