A bill expanding PTSD as a presumptive occupational disease for state corrections workers has prompted AWC to ask for a broader conversation on PTSD in the workers’ compensation system. One version of the bill was heard in week 1 of session, and the other is up for a hearing this week.
SB 5043, sponsored by Sen. Manka Dhingra (D–Redmond), makes posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) a presumptive occupational disease under workers’ compensation for certain correctional facility workers working at facilities operated by the state Department of Corrections (DOC) or under contract by DOC. The presumption can be rebutted with a preponderance of evidence, and the bill provides that if an employer appeals the presumption to the Board of Industrial Appeals and the worker prevails, the worker is entitled to attorney's fees and costs associated with the appeal from the employer.
There is also a companion HB 1070, sponsored by Rep. Lauren Davis (D–Shoreline), that was heard in the first week of session.
It is AWC’s understanding that these bills are intended to only cover state DOC corrections workers, not city jail workers. AWC is working with the bill’s proponents to make this distinction clear. In addition, we have asked the legislature and L&I to take a more holistic look at PTSD for public safety workers and the systems that are set up for addressing PTSD claims.
PTSD is a serious concern for public safety workers and more needs to be done to prevent workers from developing PTSD in the first place or getting them the help they need after it develops. However, the way that presumptive PTSD claims are currently addressed in Washington’s workers’ compensation system is unsustainable. Since the Legislature made PTSD a presumptive occupational disease for law enforcement in 2018, workers’ compensation rates for city police have skyrocketed, largely driven by PTSD claims. For the past two years, PTSD claims have made up about half of all claims costs for first responders. The average PTSD claim cost for first responders is around $650,000.
Dates to remember
HB 1070 is scheduled for a committee vote in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee on January 31 at 10:30 am.
SB 5043 is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee on January 31 at 8 am.