A bill to increase labor standards for employees during health emergencies has passed the Legislature and is on its way to the Governor for signature. If signed, the bill will take effect immediately.

We have tracked SB 5115, also known as the Health Emergency Labor Standards Act (HELSA), all session as it made its way through the legislative process. Our most recent article on the bill can be found here. The provisions of the final version of the bill are only triggered when the Governor or U.S. President declares a public health emergency impacting the entire state.

The final version of the bill:

• Creates a rebuttable presumption of occupational disease for frontline workers during a public health emergency for the purposes of worker’s compensation. Employers may rebut the presumption with a preponderance of evidence standard.
• Allows costs of workers’ comp payments under the presumption to not affect an employer’s experience rating. Self-insured employers can also deduct the cost of such payments from their reported claim costs when calculating their assessments to L&I.
• Requires large employers (51+ employees) to report infections to L&I if ten or more employees test positive for a disease that is subject of the public health emergency. Such reports can be used by L&I to identify potential clusters of infection or investigate WISHA violations.
• Requires employers to provide written notice of potential exposure to employees (and their union) and subcontractors who may have been exposed to an infection.
• Prohibits workplace discrimination against high-risk employees seeking accommodations or using leave options during health emergencies.

The bill provides an extensive list of “frontline” workers, including many that are common at cities, such as first responders and law enforcement, maintenance and janitorial staff, transit workers, and corrections employees, among others. A more extensive list is available in the most recent bill report. A provision that would have imposed liability on retrospective rating agencies (like AWC’s Retro program) for the cost of an appeal of workers’ compensation payments under the bill was removed from the final version that passed the Legislature.

The Senate concurred with the House’s final version of SB 5115 on April 14 on a 32-16 vote, and the bill now heads to the Governor’s desk. The bill will be effective upon signature.