[Filed January 27, 2022, 2:12 p.m., effective February 27, 2022]

Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.

Purpose: Law enforcement officers' and firefighters' (LEOFF) Plan 2 return from disability: To clarify the process when a LEOFF Plan 2 disability retiree returns to work.

Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 415-104-486 When does my disability benefit end?

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 41.50.050.

Adopted under notice filed as WSR 22-01-126 on December 13, 2021.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Date Adopted: January 26, 2022.

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 18-13-078, filed 6/15/18, effective 7/16/18)

WAC 415-104-486When does my disability benefit end?

The department may require comprehensive medical or psychological examinations to reevaluate your continued eligibility for disability benefits. For catastrophic benefits the department may also require or offer to provide comprehensive vocational examinations and/or submission of earnings information to evaluate your continued eligibility. You are required to contact the department if your medical/vocational or financial situation changes.

(1) Your duty or nonduty disability benefit will cease if:

(a) You return to work in a LEOFF-eligible position; or

(b) Medical examination reveals that you are no longer totally incapacitated for employment in a LEOFF-eligible position and you are no longer entitled to workers' compensation benefits under Title 51 RCW.

(2) Your catastrophic disability benefit will cease if:

(a) You return to work in a LEOFF-eligible position;

(b) Medical/vocational examination, or other information commonly available or provided to the department by an employer, reveals that your disability no longer prevents you from performing substantial gainful activity; or

If you believe you are capable of returning from your disability to work for your former employer and your employer agrees that you have met their requirements (examples could include a fit for duty test or polygraph), your disability benefit will end on the date you start working, as reported to the department by your employer. If you do not meet the requirements of your employer, you may challenge your employer's decision through the collective bargaining process, or other legal process against your employer.