Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
(1) In the sole
discretion of the supervisor of industrial insurance or the supervisor's
designee, an eligible employer, insured through the state fund or self-insured,
may receive benefits shown in the table below:
A preferred worker certified on or after
January 1, 2016, who is hired by: |
Employer |
State Fund employer (pays premiums to
L&I) |
Self-insured employer |
(a) Wage, clothing, and equipment
reimbursements specified in subsection (2) of this section. |
X
|
X
|
(b) Continuous employment incentive specified
in subsection (3) of this section. |
(c) Does not pay accident fund and medical
aid fund premiums for hours worked by the preferred worker. |
X
|
|
(d) Will not have the cost of any new claim
filed by that preferred worker charged to their experience rating. |
(e) Receives reimbursement from the second
injury fund for all benefits paid on any new claim filed by that worker during
the certification period. |
|
X
|
(2) An
eligible employer, insured through the state fund or self-insured, may be
reimbursed for the following expenses actually incurred while employing a
preferred worker who was certified on or after January 1, 2016, at work
approved under WAC 296-16-145, performed during the worker's certification
period:
(a) Fifty percent of basic gross
wages paid to the worker for the work actually performed, for up to sixty-six
days in a twenty-four month period and a maximum of ten thousand dollars per
worker certification period.
(i) Basic gross
wages means the basic hourly wages or salary. Basic gross wages do not include
tips, commissions, bonuses, board, housing, fuel, health care, dental care,
vision care, per diem, reimbursements for work-related expenses, or any other
payments.
(ii) A partial day worked
counts as one day. Example: The worker works a four-hour shift. This counts as
one day out of the sixty-six.
(iii)
If the worker's single shift spans two calendar days, that shift counts as one
day. Example: The worker's single shift starts at 10:00 p.m., November 14th,
and continues until 6:30 a.m., November 15th. This counts as one day out of the
sixty-six.
(iv) The sixty-six days
do not have to be consecutive.
(v)
The employer may choose which sixty-six days to seek reimbursement
for.
(vi) The employer cannot be
reimbursed for dates the employer employed the worker that are more than
twenty-four months after the earliest day the department has already reimbursed
on the claim. Example: The first work date for which the employer was
reimbursed was February 1, 2016. The twenty-four month eligibility period ends
January 31, 2018.
(vii) The
employer must submit the request for reimbursement within one year of the date
the work was performed.
(viii) The
employer must submit to the department documentation such as payroll records
and time cards that verify the dates worked and basic gross wages
paid.
(b) Clothing the
employer purchased for the worker, necessary to perform the medically approved
work, up to four hundred dollars per worker certification period.
(i) The department will not reimburse the
employer for any clothing the employer provided to the worker that the employer
normally provides to its workers.
(ii) When the work ends, the clothing belongs
to the worker.
(iii) The employer
must submit the request for reimbursement within one year of the date of
purchase, and include itemized receipts.
(c) Tools and equipment the employer
purchased to enable the worker to perform the medically approved work, up to
two thousand five hundred dollars per worker certification period.
(i) The department will not reimburse the
employer for any tools and equipment the employer provided to the worker that
the employer normally provides to its workers.
(ii) The employer cannot be reimbursed for
tools and equipment purchased prior to offering the job to the
worker.
(iii) When the work ends,
the tools and equipment belong to the employer.
(iv) The employer must submit the request for
reimbursement within one year of the date of purchase, and include itemized
receipts.
(3)
An eligible employer who continuously employs a certified preferred worker at
the medically approved job without reduction in base wages for at least twelve
consecutive months, beginning on or after January 1, 2016, may receive a
one-time continuous employment incentive payment at the sole discretion of the
supervisor of industrial insurance or the supervisor's designee.
(a) The twelve months begin the date the
worker is certified as a preferred worker or the first date of employment,
whichever is later.
(b) For
purposes of this section, "continuous employment" is defined as maintaining the
same work pattern as the medically approved job date of hire. "Same work
pattern" generally refers to the number of hours worked per week and the
worker's primary shift, for example, days, swing, or graveyard shift, as long
as total hours are not reduced. For example, a farm laborer returns to approved
work as an employee in the farm's retail outlet, Monday through Thursday, 8:00
a.m. to 4:00 p.m., thirty-two hours per week. A month later, the schedule
changes to Tuesday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., thirty-two hours per
week. The work pattern is the same as the medically approved job date of hire.
However, a change to shift hours that are 4:00 p.m. to midnight may be a change
in work pattern.
(c) "Without
reduction" means the worker receives the same base wage or greater from the
date of hire throughout the twelve-month period. In addition, the employer must
continue any health care benefits the certified preferred worker had at the
time of hire, unless these benefits are inconsistent with the employer's
current benefit program for workers.
(d) The one-time payment is equal to the
lesser of ten percent of the worker's wages or ten thousand dollars. Wages for
the one-time payment include commissions and bonuses paid, but do not include
tips, board, housing, fuel, health care, dental care, vision care, per diem,
reimbursements for work related expenses, or any other payments.
(e) Only one continuous employment incentive
is payable per worker certification period.
(f) The employer must submit the request for
the continuous employment incentive within one year of the date the twelve
months ended.
(4) If the
department receives a valid reimbursement or incentive request from different
employers within the same worker certification period, the requests will be
paid in the order received by the department up to the limits
described.
(5) The employer cannot
be reimbursed under both the stay at work and preferred worker programs for the
same dates worked or expenses incurred.
Statutory Authority:
RCW
51.04.010,
51.04.020 and 2004 c 258.
05-01-105, § 296-16-150, filed 12/15/04, effective
1/15/05.