Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
Labor & Workplace Standards Committee
HB 1927
Brief Description: Reducing the number of days that a worker's temporary total disability must continue to receive industrial insurance compensation for the day of an injury and the three-day period following the injury.
Sponsors: Representatives Bronoske, Berry, Ortiz-Self, Reed, Ormsby, Kloba, Doglio, Lekanoff, Fosse and Pollet.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Reduces the number of days ? from 14 to 7 ? that a temporary total disability must continue to receive workers' compensation time loss benefits for the first three days following the injury.
Hearing Date: 1/10/24
Staff: Kelly Leonard (786-7147).
Background:

Workers who are injured or disabled in the course of employment are entitled to certain benefits through the workers' compensation program, which is administered by the Department of Labor and Industries.  Benefits may include medical costs, temporary wage replacement, vocational rehabilitation benefits, and permanent disabilities benefits.

 

A worker may be entitled to a partial replacement of wages, also referred to as time-loss compensation, if the worker is temporarily unable to work as a result of an occupational injury or disease.  In order to qualify for time-loss compensation, a health care provider must certify that the worker is unable to work due to a work-related injury or illness, also referred to as a temporary total disability.


Time-loss compensation is paid to a worker only if the worker is unable to work for more than 3 days following the date of the injury.  Further, the worker does not receive time-loss compensation for those first three days unless they are still unable to work on the 14th day following the injury. 


The amount of time-loss compensation is a percentage of the worker's typical wages, adjusted based on the worker's family status and number of dependents and subject to minimum and maximum amounts.  
Summary of Bill:

The number of days that a temporary total disability must continue to receive workers' compensation time loss benefits for the first three days following the injury is reduced to seven days.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Preliminary fiscal note available.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.