With the legislature “in town,” such as they are, it is often easy to forget that administrative rulemaking at various state agencies continues at its regular pace. Here we aim to bring you a quick update on some of the HR and labor relations
rules that are currently ongoing.
Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) rulemakings
- Wildfire smoke: We wrote in November that L&I is developing workplace safety and health rules relating to wildfire smoke,
especially for outdoor workers. L&I is currently conducting stakeholder meetings to develop the initial draft
language with more meetings expected in March or April. The first set of rules are emergency rules to be put in place ahead of the 2021 fire season while
L&I undergoes a standard rulemaking with more detailed analysis. L&I has said that it will likely base its initial emergency wildfire smoke rule off of recent rules adopted in California.
Oregon is also said to be developing similar wildfire smoke rules.
- Self-insurance: L&I is working on several sets of rules relating to self-insurance for workers compensation:
- 2020 legislation requires third party administrators for self-insured employers to be licensed by L&I. Related rulemaking was initiated in October 2020, but no additional meetings are currently planned. More information is available
here.
- Rulemaking initiated in November 2020 would update existing self-insurance financial rules for the qualifications and certifications of self-insured employers to align with modern best practices. The rule is in the preproposal stage, and no
meetings have been scheduled yet. More information is available here.
- Occupational disease presumptions: Legislation passed in 2018 and 2019 changed statutes around occupational diseases. This rulemaking was initiated
in 2019 to update existing rules to reflect changes in the statutes and clarify presumptive workers’ comp coverage for firefighters, law enforcement officers, and EMTs. The rule appears to be on hold during the pandemic.
- Independent medical exams (IMEs): In October 2020, L&I initiated rulemaking related to IMEs in response to SB 6440 (2020).
The bill requires L&I to develop rules addressing how to accommodate injured workers for workers’ comp claims if no approved independent medical examiner with the needed specialty is available in a reasonably convenient location. The
bill also required rules on how telemedicine IMEs may be used. The rule is currently in the preproposal stage with not meetings currently set. More information is available here.
- Clean energy labor standards: The Clean Energy Transformation Act (2019) requires L&I to develop rules for labor
standards for utilities (including city-owned electrical utilities) applying for sales and use tax remittances on electricity generation equipment. L&I adopted temporary placeholder rules in November 2019. The ongoing rulemaking for the permanent rules is currently on hold during the pandemic.
Employment Security Department (ESD) rulemakings
- Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML): ESD is working to finish primarily technical PFML rules to clarify definitions used for the program, small business assistance grants, employment restoration, and appeals. Draft rules are available,
and a public hearing was held for them on February 9. More information can be found here.
- Unemployment insurance work search: In September 2020, ESD initiated rulemaking that adds additional options for unemployment insurance claimants to meet their work search requirements. More information can be found here.
- Long-term services and supports: In 2020, HB 1087 created a state long-term services support program. ESD is currently developing
rules to implement the program, including phase one rules for exemptions. Phase two rules are also underway; they include premium collections, collective bargaining agreement exemptions, and reporting and payments, among others. Phase two rules had a stakeholder meeting in early January.