HB 1070 was passed out of the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee on January 31 with an amendment that now applies the bill to workers at city jails.

The amendment was offered by committee Chair Rep. Liz Berry (D–Seattle) and expands the definition of “correctional facility worker” to include Department of Corrections (DOC) community corrections officers, staff at juvenile detention facilities, and staff employed at town, city, and county jails. The amendment language applies presumptive PTSD claims to any “staff employed” at a correctional facility, not just those who have direct contact with inmates.

Under the bill, correctional facility workers need only to have been employed in Washington for a minimum of 90 days to be eligible for the presumption. In contrast, firefighters and police must have been in service for a minimum of 10 years to be eligible for presumptive PTSD claims.

Proponents of the amendment spoke about the need to further address the way PTSD is addressed in the workers’ compensation system, but wished to have that conversation after the session was completed. In the meantime, they still wanted to see additional workers covered by presumptive PTSD claims.

AWC has significant concerns about the addition of city correctional facilities to the bill. The city experience with first responders and presumptive PTSD claims has shown that those types of claims are likely to drive significant workers compensation costs for cities in ways that are not sustainable. The Legislature should instead look at ways to fix how our workers’ compensation system handles PTSD claims before expanding presumptive claims to additional job classifications.

The bill passed out of the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee on a 6-3 vote and has now been referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

AWC seeks broader discussion on PTSD & workers’ comp as bill for corrections workers scheduled

January 24, 2025

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.