Z-0917.2  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 6766

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     2000 Regular Session

By Senator Fairley; by request of Department of Labor & Industries

Read first time 01/26/2000.  Referred to Committee on Labor & Workforce Development.

Changing workers' reporting of applications for compensation.

    AN ACT Relating to employer reporting of claims; amending RCW 51.28.010, 51.28.020, and 51.28.025; adding a new section to chapter 51.28 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an effective date.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 51.28.010 and 1977 ex.s. c 350 s 32 are each amended to read as follows:

    Whenever any accident occurs to any worker, or an occupational disease is contracted by a worker in the course of his or her employment that requires treatment by a physician, it ((shall be)) is the duty of such worker or someone in his or her behalf to forthwith report such accident or occupational disease to his or her employer, superintendent, or foreman or forewoman in charge of the work((, and of the employer to at once report such accident and the injury resulting therefrom to the department pursuant to RCW 51.28.025, as now or hereafter amended, where the worker has received treatment from a physician, has been hospitalized, disabled from work, or has died as the apparent result of such accident and injury.

    Upon receipt of such notice of accident, the department shall immediately forward to the worker or his or her beneficiaries or dependents notification, in nontechnical language, of their rights under this title)).

    Sec. 2.  RCW 51.28.020 and 1984 c 159 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

    ((Where)) (1)(a) A worker ((is entitled to compensation)) claiming benefits under this title ((he or she shall)) must file a written application for benefits with the department or ((his or her self-insuring)) the employer((, as the case may be, his or her application for such, together with the)).  The application for benefits must contain sufficient information to provide the department or employer with notice that the worker sustained an industrial injury or contracted an occupational disease, and that benefits are claimed under this title.  The department, by rule, may require the worker to sign or otherwise verify the information provided in the application.

(b) In addition to the application for benefits, the worker shall file with the department or employer a certificate of the physician who attended him or her((, and it shall be)).  It is the duty of the physician to inform the injured worker of his or her rights under this title and to lend all necessary assistance in making this application for compensation and such proof of other matters as required by the rules of the department without charge to the worker.  The department shall provide physicians with a manual which outlines the procedures to be followed in applications for compensation involving occupational diseases, and which describes claimants' rights and responsibilities related to occupational disease claims.

(2) An employer, except a self-insured employer, receiving an application for benefits under subsection (1) of this section must forward the application to the department within three business days following its receipt.  An employer in violation of this subsection may be subject to a penalty determined by the director, or his or her designee.  The penalty shall not exceed five thousand dollars for each offense and shall be based on a graduated scale defined by rule and taking into account the employer's claim frequency, number of employees, history of compliance, and any other information as defined  by the department by rule.  Any penalty received under this subsection must be paid to the supplemental pension fund.

(3) If application for compensation is made to a self-insuring employer, ((he or she)) the employer shall forthwith send a copy ((thereof)) to the department.

(4) Upon receiving the application for benefits, the employer or department, as the case may be, shall immediately provide written notice to the worker or the worker's beneficiary, of his or her rights under this title in nontechnical language as prescribed by the department.

(5) If the employer has not already received a copy, the department shall ensure that the employer is immediately provided with a copy of the worker's application for benefits.

    Sec. 3.  RCW 51.28.025 and 1987 c 185 s 32 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) Whenever an employer has notice or knowledge of an injury or occupational disease sustained by any worker in his or her employment who has received treatment from a physician, has been hospitalized, disabled from work, or has died as the apparent result of such injury or occupational disease, the employer ((shall)) must immediately report the same to the department on forms prescribed by it.  The report ((shall)) must include:

    (a) The name, address, and business of the employer;

    (b) The name, address, and occupation of the worker;

    (c) The date, time, cause, and nature of the injury or occupational disease;

    (d) Whether the injury or occupational disease arose in the course of the injured worker's employment;

    (e) All available information pertaining to the nature of the injury or occupational disease including but not limited to any visible signs, any complaints of the worker, any time lost from work, the wages paid to the worker including the reasonable value of board, housing, fuel, or other consideration of like nature, and the observable effect on the worker's bodily functions, so far as is known; and

    (f) Such other pertinent information as the department may prescribe by ((regulation)) rule.

    (2) An employer that has notice or knowledge that an industrial injury has occurred to a worker, or that an occupational disease has been contracted by a worker, shall immediately provide the worker or the worker's beneficiary with written notice, in nontechnical language as prescribed by the department, of the worker's rights under this title.  The notice shall also inform the worker or the worker's beneficiary how to apply for benefits under this title.

(3) The employer shall prominently display and disseminate to all employees, in nontechnical language as prescribed by the department, procedures clearly describing how a worker should report injuries or occupational diseases to the employer.  The procedures must be consistent with those procedures established by the department.

(4) Failure or refusal to file the report required by subsection (1) of this section shall subject the offending employer to a penalty determined by the director ((but not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars for each offense, to be collected in a civil action in the name of the department and)) or his or her designee.  The penalty shall not exceed five hundred dollars for each offense.  Any penalty received under this subsection shall be paid into the supplemental pension fund.

(5) The employer report required by this section shall not in any way relieve the worker of his or her obligation to timely file an application for benefits as required by RCW 51.28.020.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.  A new section is added to chapter 51.28 RCW to read as follows:

    The department shall adopt rules that are necessary to implement this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.  The department of labor and industries shall report to the house of representatives commerce and labor committee and the senate labor and workforce development committee by September 15, 2000, on the plan to implement sections 1 through 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6.  Sections 1 through 3 of this act take effect July 1, 2001.

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