BILL REQ. #:  S-4133.1 

Read first time 01/26/12.   Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce & Consumer Protection.

     AN ACT Relating to assisting employees of self-insured employers entering claim resolution structured settlement agreements; amending RCW 51.32.242; and adding a new section to chapter 51.14 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 51.14 RCW to read as follows:
     The office of the ombudsman shall develop and promote an educational program and materials to assist employees of self-insured employers entering into claim resolution structured settlement agreements pursuant to RCW 51.04.063.

Sec. 2   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 that amount as shall be fixed from time to time by the director, the basis for measuring said 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, and during fiscal year 2013 up to five hundred thousand dollars for the purposes described in section 1 of this act.
     (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.