WSIA

NOTE: The Link to the COVID-19 Announcement Page in the 4.10.20 WSIA Weekly accidentally pointed to this specific page. Click Here for the Announcement Page.

In response to questions from self-insurers and their representatives, the Department of Labor & Industries has made certain policy decisions to provide some financial relief for self-insured employers for the impact of allowed COVID-19 claims. These decisions are outlined in the “Frequently Asked Questions” below. We’ve also clarified that injured workers whose temporary light duty ends are entitled to time-loss compensation. If you have any questions please contact the self-insurance program.

Coronavirus (COVID-10)

Common questions from self-insured employers on workers’ compensation

April 2020

How will the allowed coronavirus (COVID-19) claim losses impact self-insured employers?

Self-insured employers will pay the benefits due on allowed coronavirus claims. However, they can remove these losses when calculating their administrative assessments. These losses must be reported to Labor & Industries (L&I) for potential audit purposes.

If a self-insured employer has a worker on temporary light duty and their business is closed due to the pandemic, is the worker eligible for time loss benefits? Will these losses be included in the employer’s assessment determinations?

The worker is eligible for time-loss benefits unless the employer chooses to keep them on salary. The law is clear in situations where temporary or transitional light duty work comes to an end, regardless of the reason it’s ending. The law recognizes that these workers are restricted from being able to perform their regular employment, or jobs other than the light duty one.  

Only losses for allowed coronavirus claims should be removed from assessment determinations. 

How will a self-insured employer’s assessments be impacted if they choose to continue to pay their workers when their business is shut down or a worker is quarantined and the worker is not working as a result of the pandemic?

For the Supplemental Pension Fund Assessment

• If your business location shuts down, then you don’t need to report hours for workers who you may continue to pay wages but aren’t working.
• If your workers are able to work remotely, then you must continue to report their hours.  

For the Administrative Assessment

• If you pay time-loss to workers while quarantined and they do not contract the disease, then you can deduct from your reported claim costs, and these won’t be included in the assessment.  
• If you pay workers their wages during the quarantine, and a claim is filed but they do not contract the disease, then you can also deduct the equivalent amount of time-loss for the quarantined days from your reported costs. These won’t be included in the assessment.