FINAL BILL REPORT

ESSB 5744

C 339 L 13

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Monitoring the progress of the logger safety initiative.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Commerce & Labor (originally sponsored by Senators Hargrove, Hatfield and Conway).

Senate Committee on Commerce & Labor

House Committee on Labor & Workforce Development

House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Health & Human Services

Background: Under the state's industrial insurance laws, workers who, in the course of employment, are injured or disabled from an occupational disease are entitled to benefits. Depending on the disability, workers are entitled to medical, temporary time-loss, and vocational rehabilitation benefits, as well as benefits for permanent disabilities.

Employers in the state must either purchase industrial insurance through the state fund or self-insure. The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) administers the state fund. To calculate premium rates, L&I makes a number of actuarial calculations that take into consideration the risk of a worker getting hurt, and the severity of the injury. Premiums are calculated for each risk classification, and an employer can be assigned to one or more classification. The basic premium rate is a composite of three separate rates, the accident fund rate, the medical aid fund rate, and the supplemental pension fund rate. The accident and medical aid fund base premiums are experience rated.

The current base accident fund premium for non-mechanized logging is $14.28 per hour, with a combined base rate of $19.61 per hour. The average base accident fund premium across all risk classifications is $0.34 per hour.

Summary: The Legislature recognizes the logger safety initiative, which is being developed by industry stakeholders with the goal of reducing the frequency and severity of injuries to manual loggers. L&I must reach out to employers in the logging industry and invite them to participate in the logger safety initiative, and include at least one representative of logging industry workers on the taskforce. L&I must report back to the Legislature on implementation of the initiative and participation in the safety program, including a description and summary of the worker training and supervision standards and the certification process for individual companies. The report must also contain a description and summary of any industrial insurance rate reduction or other incentive for rate year 2014 that will be applied to employers participating in the initiative.

Votes on Final Passage: