Washington House Bill 1927 Passed to Adjust Time-Loss Eligibility for Injured Workers
Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed into law House Bill 1927 which makes it easier for injured workers to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits for the first few days following their injury. This change took effect on June 6, 2024 and impacts all claims with dates of injury or manifestation after June 6, 2024.
Workers who are injured during the course of their employment are entitled to certain benefits. In some workers’ compensation claims, a workplace injury may only require a day or two to recover from before the worker can return to work. In that case, the claim would be a medical only claim with no time loss benefits. However, when the worker is unable to return to work for longer periods of time, the worker is entitled to time-loss compensation as well as other benefits possibly including medical costs, vocational rehabilitation benefits, and permanent disabilities benefits.
Injured workers become eligible for time-loss benefits when they are unable to work for more than three days after the injury. House Bill 1927 reduces the number of days that a worker’s temporary total disability must continue to qualify for temporary disability compensation for the first three days of the injury. The first three days are considered a waiting period and are not eligible for benefits.
Before this bill was passed, an injured worker had to remain disabled for at least fourteen days to qualify for time-loss compensation that would cover the first three days of injury. Now, thanks to House Bill 1927, the injured worker need only remain disabled for seven days to qualify for the first three days compensation.
Notably, this change will not impact the Department of Labor and Industries’ process for issuing checks for time-loss checks which requires the payments be made within 14 days. The only change we should see is an increase in the amount of the first check accounting for the first three days of the injury if the worker remained disabled for at least seven days.
If you have any questions regarding the impact of House Bill 1927 on Washington workers’ compensation claims, please feel free to reach out to me at 971-867-2733 or .
Posted by McKenzie Brooks.
