WSIA

In response to federal and state law a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the federal U.S. Departments of Justice and Labor, and the Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), the Department has initiated efforts to enhance communications with its limited English proficiency (LEP) workers as well as other LEP customers.  

As part of this effort, L&I has begun to more broadly solicit feedback from these customers. Much of the feedback involves general claim management concerns and questions; however some of the feedback involves allegations of Civil Rights violations in the handling of workers' compensation claims. The Department takes these allegations based on race or national origin very seriously and is obligated to conduct a review.

To coordinate the review of these allegations, L&I has created a new Office of Civil Rights.  Though rare, some of these allegations may involve a self-insured employer.

In order to determine if there is merit to complaints raised regarding a self-insured employer, you may contacted by the Department. In the event a civil rights complaint is made, Lori Evans, Limited English Proficiency Manager for Insurance Services, will be contacting the employer or firm directly to discuss the allegation(s) in order to develop a response to the LEP customer.

You can read more about the MOA and underlying issues that gave rise to it here.