PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY
LABOR AND INDUSTRIES
Subject of Possible Rule Making: Industrial insurance, chapter 296-14 WAC, Release and protection of claim file information.
Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: RCW 51.04.010, 51.04.020, and 51.28.070.
Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: Based on the statutes listed above, the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) establishes and adopts rules governing administration of the industrial insurance laws. The proposed rules would provide clarification about claim file confidentiality, and how and by whom confidentiality must be maintained.
Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: No other federal or state agencies regulate this subject. Federal HIPAA laws, while affecting confidentiality of protected health information, exempt workers' compensation from their authorization requirement (45 C.F.R. § 164.512(l)).
Process for Developing New Rule: L&I will begin the rule development process by drafting proposed rules and soliciting input from the business and labor communities. L&I will share the draft proposal with stakeholders and other interested parties, including the Workers' Compensation Advisory Committee. A public hearing will be held in Tumwater after the proposal is filed.
Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication Department of Labor and Industries, Audrey Pitchford, Administrative Regulations Analyst 1, P.O. Box 44208, Olympia, WA 98504-4208, phone (360) 902-4583, fax (360) 902-4960, e-mail PITA235@LNI.WA.GOV.
November 16, 2004
Paul Trause
Director