H-982                _______________________________________________

                                                    HOUSE BILL NO. 345

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By Representatives R. King, Patrick, Wang, Chandler and McMullen; by request of Joint Select Committee on Industrial Insurance

Read first time 1/26/87 and referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

AN ACT Relating to reimbursement of self-insured employers' sickness and accident funds; and adding a new section to chapter 51.32 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 51.32 RCW to read as follows:

          Notwithstanding RCW 51.32.040, whenever, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement, a self-insured employer pays a worker or his or her beneficiaries disability benefits from a sickness and accident fund maintained by the employer, and it is subsequently determined that the worker or beneficiary is entitled to those benefits under this title, the employer may withhold amounts from benefits payable under this title sufficient to reimburse its sickness and accident fund for payments made to the worker or beneficiary from such fund:  PROVIDED, That the reimbursement is authorized by the collective bargaining agreement.