1788-S2 HBR FBR 25

FINAL BILL REPORT

2SHB 1788

C 168 L 25

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Concerning workers' compensation benefits.

Sponsors: House Committee on Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives Richards, Bronoske, Berry, Wylie, Fosse, Taylor, Ormsby, Nance, Salahuddin, Pollet and Obras).

House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards

House Committee on Appropriations

Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce

Senate Committee on Ways & Means

Background:

Under the Industrial Insurance Act (Worker's Compensation Act), a worker who is injured in the course of employment is entitled to certain benefits.

Worker's Compensation Payment for Total Disability.

A worker who is permanently or temporarily totally disabled—meaning incapacitated from performing any gainful occupation—or a worker's surviving spouse, is entitled to compensatory benefits based on the following percentages of the worker's monthly wages, from all employment, at the time of injury:

Worker's Status: Unmarried	Percentage of Worker's Wages	Worker's Status: Married	Percentage of Worker's Wages
Unmarried with no children	60 percent	Married with no children	65 percent
Unmarried with one child	62 percent	Married with one child	67 percent
Unmarried with two children	64 percent	Married with two children	69 percent
Unmarried with three children	66 percent	Married with three children	71 percent
Unmarried with four children	68 percent	Married with four children	73 percent
Unmarried with five or more children	70 percent	Married with five or more children	75 percent

Payments to a Person Who Has Legal Custody of an Injured Worker's Child.

A child is entitled to compensation under the Worker's Compensation Act if the child is:

the worker's natural born child, posthumous child, stepchild, legally adopted child who was adopted prior to the injury, child who was conceived before but born after the injury, or dependent child who the worker has legal custody and control of; and
is under age 18, under age 23 and enrolled in a full-time course at an accredited school, or over age 18 but is a dependent because of a disability.

If a worker, or a worker's surviving spouse, does not have legal custody of a child who is entitled to compensation, payments are made to the person who has legal custody of the child.

Summary:

Worker's Compensation Payment for Total Disability.

For worker's compensation claims for injuries that occur or diseases that manifest on or after July 1, 2026, compensatory benefits are based on the following percentages of the worker's monthly wages at the time of injury:

Worker's Status	Percentage of Worker's Wages
Unmarried with no children	60 percent
Unmarried with one child or Married with no children	65 percent
Unmarried with two children or Married with one child	67 percent
Unmarried with three children or Married with two children	69 percent
Unmarried with four children or Married with three children	71 percent
Unmarried with five children or Married with four children	73 percent
Unmarried with six or more children or Married with five or more children	75 percent

Payments to a Person Who Has Legal Custody of an Injured Worker's Child.

A person who has legal custody of a child who is entitled to compensation under the Worker's Compensation Act is paid an amount equal to 2 percent of the worker's wages. The payment to the injured worker or the worker's surviving spouse is reduced by the amount of the payment made to the person who has legal custody of the child.

Null and Void.
The act is null and void clause if specific funding is not provided for in the omnibus appropriations act by June 30, 2025.

Votes on Final Passage:

Final Passage Votes
House	78	18
Senate	36	12

Effective:

July 1, 2026