2123.E AMS CHAS NICH 096
EHB 2123 - S AMD 466
By Senators Chase, Nelson
NOT ADOPTED 05/23/2011
On page 10, after line 38, insert the following:
"PART
3. PROHIBITING DEDUCTIONS OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION
PREMIUMS AND OTHER COSTS FROM WAGES AND EARNINGS
Sec. 301. RCW 51.16.140 and 1989 c 385 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
(((1) Every employer who is not a self-insurer shall
deduct from the pay of each of his or her workers one-half of the amount he or
she is required to pay, for medical benefits within each risk classification.
Such amount shall be periodically determined by the director and reported by
him or her to all employers under this title: PROVIDED, That the state
governmental unit shall pay the entire amount into the medical aid fund for
volunteers, as defined in RCW 51.12.035, and the state apprenticeship council
shall pay the entire amount into the medical aid fund for registered
apprentices or trainees, for the purposes of RCW 51.12.130. The deduction
under this section is not authorized for premiums assessed under RCW 51.16.210.
(2))) It shall be unlawful for the employer((, unless
specifically authorized by this title,)) to deduct or obtain any part of
the premium or other costs required to be by him or her paid from the wages or
earnings of any of his or her workers, and the making of or attempt to make any
such deduction shall be a gross misdemeanor.
Sec. 302. RCW 51.32.073 and 1989 c 385 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
(((1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this
section,)) Each employer shall ((retain from the earnings of each
worker)) remit to the department that amount as shall be fixed from
time to time by the director, the basis for measuring ((said)) that
amount to be determined by the director. ((The money so retained shall be
matched in an equal amount by each employer, and all)) Such moneys shall
be remitted to the department in such manner and at such intervals as the
department directs and shall be placed in the supplemental pension fund((:
PROVIDED, That the state apprenticeship council shall pay the entire amount
into the supplemental pension fund for registered apprentices or trainees
during their participation in supplemental and related instruction classes)).
The moneys so collected shall be used exclusively for the additional payments
from the supplemental pension fund prescribed in this title and for the amount
of any increase payable under the provisions of RCW 51.32.075, as now or
hereafter amended, and shall be no more than necessary to make such payments on
a current basis. The department may require a self-insurer to make any additional
payments which are payable from the supplemental pension fund and thereafter
such self-insurer shall be reimbursed therefrom.
(((2) None of the amount assessed for the
supplemental pension fund under RCW 51.16.210 may be retained from the earnings
of workers covered under RCW 51.16.210.))
Sec. 303. RCW 51.32.242 and 2008 c 280 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
(((1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this
section,)) Each self-insured employer shall ((retain from the
earnings of each of its workers)) remit to the department that
amount as shall be fixed from time to time by the director, the basis for
measuring ((said)) that amount to be determined by the director.
These moneys shall only be ((retained from employees and)) remitted to
the department in such manner and at such intervals as the department directs
and shall be placed in the self-insured employer overpayment reimbursement
fund. The moneys so collected shall be used exclusively for reimbursement to the
reserve fund and to self-insured employers for benefits overpaid during the
pendency of board or court appeals in which the self-insured employer prevails
and has not recovered, and shall be no more than necessary to make such
payments on a current basis.
(((2) None of the amount assessed for the employer
overpayment reimbursement fund under this section may be retained from the
earnings of workers covered under RCW 51.16.210.))
Sec. 304. RCW 51.32.370 and 1994 c 265 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The department shall conduct research on chemically
related illnesses, which shall include contracting with recognized medical
research institutions. The department shall develop an implementation plan for
research based on sound scientific research criteria, such as double blind
studies, and shall include adequate provisions for peer review, and submit the
plan to the ((worker's [workers'])) workers' compensation
advisory committee for review and approval. Following approval of the plan,
all specific proposals for projects under the plan shall be submitted for
review to a scientific advisory committee, established to provide scientific
oversight of research projects, and to the workers' compensation advisory
committee. The department shall include a research project that encourages
regional cooperation in addressing chemically related illness.
(2) Expenditures for research projects shall be within
legislative appropriations from the medical aid fund, with self-insured employers
and the state fund each paying a pro rata share, based on the number of worker
hours, of the authorized expenditures. ((For the purposes of this
subsection only, self-insured employers may deduct from the pay of each of
their employees one-half of the share charged to the employer for the
expenditures from the medical aid fund.))
NEW SECTION. Sec. 305. Sections 301 through 304 of this act take effect January 1, 2012."
Renumber the remaining sections consecutively and correct any internal references accordingly.
Correct the title.
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EFFECT: Eliminates the worker portion of workers comp premium
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