Title 51 — Title 51 INDUSTRIAL INSURANCE

"Self-insurer" means an employer or group of employers which has been authorized under this title to carry its own liability to its employees covered by this title.[ 1983 c 174 s 1; 1971 ex.s. c 289 s 80.]Notes:Effective date—Severability—1971 ex.s. c 289: See RCW 51.98.060 and 5…

"State fund" means those funds held by the state or any agency thereof for the purposes of this title. The "state of Washington industrial insurance fund" means the department when acting as the agency to insure the industrial insurance obligation of employers. The terms "state f…

"Successor" means any person to whom a taxpayer quitting, selling out, exchanging, or disposing of a business sells or otherwise conveys, directly or indirectly, in bulk and not in the ordinary course of the taxpayer's business, a major part of the property, whether real or perso…

(1) For the purposes of this title, the monthly wages the worker was receiving from all employment at the time of injury shall be the basis upon which compensation is computed unless otherwise provided specifically in the statute concerned. In cases where the worker's wages are n…

(1) "Worker" means every person in this state who is engaged in the employment of an employer under this title, whether by way of manual labor or otherwise in the course of his or her employment; also every person in this state who is engaged in the employment of or who is workin…

For the purposes of this title, any individual performing services that require registration under chapter 18.27 RCW or licensing under chapter 18.106 or 19.28 RCW for remuneration under an independent contract is not a worker when:(1) The individual has been, and will continue t…

"Employee" shall have the same meaning as "worker" when the context would so indicate, and shall include all officers of the state, state agencies, counties, municipal corporations, or other public corporations, or political subdivisions.[ 1977 ex.s. c 350 s 16; 1972 ex.s. c 43 s…

As an exception to the definition of "employer" under RCW 51.08.070 and the definition of "worker" under RCW 51.08.180, services performed by an individual for remuneration shall not constitute employment subject to this title if it is shown that:(1) The individual has been and w…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 5847-S2.SL) ***"Attending provider" means a person who is a member of the health care provider network established under RCW 51.36.010, is treating injured workers within the person's scope of practice, and is licensed under Title 18 RCW in one of the …

For the purposes of this title, the terms spouse, marriage, marital, husband, wife, widow, widower, next of kin, and family shall be interpreted as applying equally to state registered domestic partnerships or individuals in state registered domestic partnerships as well as to ma…

There is a hazard in all employment and it is the purpose of this title to embrace all employments which are within the legislative jurisdiction of the state.This title shall be liberally construed for the purpose of reducing to a minimum the suffering and economic loss arising f…

The following are the only employments which shall not be included within the mandatory coverage of this title:(1) Any person employed as a domestic servant in a private home by an employer who has less than two employees regularly employed forty or more hours a week in such empl…

(1) The parent or parents of a person at least eighteen years of age but under twenty-one years of age may elect to exclude from mandatory coverage under this title the parent's employment of that person in agricultural activities on their family farm if:(a) The person resides wi…

(1) Volunteers shall be deemed employees and/or workers, as the case may be, for all purposes relating to medical aid benefits under chapter 51.36 RCW.A "volunteer" shall mean a person who performs any assigned or authorized duties for the state or any agency thereof, except emer…

Offenders performing community restitution pursuant to court order or under RCW 13.40.080 may be deemed employees and/or workers under this title at the option of the state, county, city, town, or nonprofit organization under whose authorization the community restitution is perfo…

(1) Whenever a public entity engages in any work, or let a contract therefor, in which workers are employed for wages, this title shall be applicable thereto. The employer's payments into the accident fund shall be made from the treasury of the public entity. If the work is being…

The application of this title and related safety laws is hereby extended to all lands and premises owned or held by the United States of America, by deed or act of cession, by purchase or otherwise, which are within the exterior boundaries of the state of Washington, and to all p…

The provisions of this title apply to all work done by contract; the person, firm, or corporation who lets a contract for such work is responsible primarily and directly for all premiums upon the work, except as provided in subsection (2) of this section. The contractor and any s…

Inasmuch as it has proved impossible in the case of employees of common carriers by railroad, engaged in maintenance and operation of railways doing interstate, foreign, and intrastate commerce, and in maintenance and construction of their equipment, to separate and distinguish t…

The provisions of this title shall apply to employers and workers (other than railways and their workers) engaged in intrastate and also in interstate or foreign commerce, for whom a rule of liability or method of compensation now exists under or may hereafter be established by t…

(1) Common or contract carriers doing business in this state that are engaged exclusively in interstate or foreign commerce, or any combination thereof, shall provide coverage under this title for their Washington employees, unless the employer has furnished workers' compensation…

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the provisions of this title shall not apply to a master or member of a crew of any vessel, or to employers and workers for whom a right or obligation exists under the maritime laws or federal employees' compensation act for perso…

(1) The department shall furnish the benefits provided under this title to any worker or beneficiary who may have a right or claim for benefits under the maritime laws of the United States resulting from an asbestos-related disease if (a) there are objective clinical findings to …

Any employer who has in his or her employment any person or persons excluded from mandatory coverage pursuant to RCW 51.12.020 may file notice in writing with the director, on such forms as the department may provide, of his or her election to make such persons otherwise excluded…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 6039-S.SL) ***(1) If a worker, while working outside the territorial limits of this state, suffers an injury on account of which he or she, or his or her beneficiaries, would have been entitled to compensation under this title had the injury occurred w…

(1) All persons registered as apprentices or trainees with the state apprenticeship council and participating in supplemental and related instruction classes conducted by a school district, a community college, a vocational school, or a local joint apprenticeship committee, shall…

(1) As used in this section:(a) "Municipal corporation" means any city, town, or county authorized by law to maintain and operate a law enforcement department;(b) "Law enforcement department" means any regularly organized police department, sheriff's department, department of pub…

Any musician or entertainer who performs as a member of a group or recognized entity is deemed an employee of the group or entity and the leader of the group or entity shall be required to properly register as an employer with the department and pay industrial insurance premiums …

The services of employees of a foreign degree-granting institution who are nonimmigrant aliens under the immigration laws of the United States, shall, for the purposes of RCW 51.12.120, be considered to be localized or principally localized, in the country of domicile of the fore…

(1) An employer covered under this title may elect to include student volunteers or unpaid students as employees or workers for all purposes relating to medical aid benefits under chapter 51.36 RCW. The employer shall give notice of its intent to cover all of its student voluntee…

An employer who has registered and accepted the services of volunteers, student volunteers, or unpaid students, who are eligible for medical aid benefits under this chapter, may annually elect to pay the premiums and assessments due under this title at the rate due for one hundre…

(1) The department may appoint a panel of individuals with for hire vehicle, limousine, or taxicab transportation industry experience and expertise to advise the department.(2) The owner or lessee of any for hire, limousine, or taxicab vehicle is eligible for inclusion in a retro…

Every employer under this title shall secure the payment of compensation under this title by:(1) Insuring and keeping insured the payment of such benefits with the state fund; or(2) Qualifying as a self-insurer under this title.[ 1971 ex.s. c 289 s 26.]Notes:Effective dates—Sever…

(1) An employer may qualify as a self-insurer by establishing to the director's satisfaction that he or she has sufficient financial ability to make certain the prompt payment of all compensation under this title and all assessments which may become due from such employer. Each a…

The director may issue a certification that an employer is qualified as a self-insurer when such employer meets the following requirements:(1) He or she has fulfilled the requirements of RCW 51.14.020.(2) He or she has submitted to the department a payroll report for the precedin…

(1) The surety on a bond filed by a self-insurer pursuant to this title may terminate its liability thereon by giving the director written notice stating when, not less than thirty days thereafter, such termination shall be effective.(2) In case of such termination, the surety sh…

(1) Any employer may at any time terminate his or her status as a self-insurer by giving the director written notice stating when, not less than thirty days thereafter, such termination shall be effective, provided such termination shall not be effective until the employer either…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 6039-S.SL) ***(1) The director may, in cases of default upon any obligation under this title by the self-insurer, after ten days notice by certified mail to the defaulting self-insurer of the intention to do so, bring suit upon such bond or collect the…

Whenever compensation due under this title is not paid because of an uncorrected default of a self-insurer, such compensation shall be paid from the medical aid and accidents funds, and any moneys obtained by the director from the bonds or other security provided under RCW 51.14.…

(1) In all cases of probate, insolvency, assignment for the benefit of creditors, or bankruptcy, the claim of the state for the amounts necessary to fulfill the obligations of a defaulting self-insured employer together with administrative costs and attorneys' fees is a lien prio…

(1) A self-insurers' insolvency trust is established to provide for the unsecured benefits paid to the injured workers of self-insured employers under this title for insolvent or defaulting self-insured employers and for the department's associated administrative costs, including…

(1) Certification of a self-insurer shall be withdrawn by the director upon one or more of the following grounds:(a) The employer no longer meets the requirements of a self-insurer; or(b) The self-insurer's deposit is insufficient; or(c) The self-insurer intentionally or repeated…

(1) Upon the petition of any employee or union or association having a substantial number of employees in the employ of the self-insurer the director or the director's designee may, in the director or designee's sole discretion, hold a hearing to determine whether or not there ar…

(1) The director shall take corrective action against a self-insured employer if the director determines that:(a) The employer is not following proper industrial insurance claims procedures;(b) The employer's accident prevention program is inadequate; or(c) Any condition describe…

(1) Every employer subject to the provisions of this title shall post and keep posted in a conspicuous place or places in and about his or her place or places of business a reasonable number of typewritten or printed notices of compliance substantially identical to a form prescri…

(1) Every self-insurer shall maintain a record of all payments of compensation made under this title. The self-insurer shall furnish to the director all information the self-insurer has in its possession as to any disputed claim, upon forms approved by the director.(2)(a) The dep…

(1) The self-insurer shall provide, when authorized under RCW 51.28.070, a copy of the employee's claim file at no cost within fifteen days of receipt of a request by the employee or the employee's representative, and shall provide the physician performing an examination with all…

The self-insurer shall request allowance or denial of a claim within sixty days from the date that the claim is filed. If the self-insurer fails to act within sixty days, the department shall promptly intervene and adjudicate the claim.[ 1993 c 122 s 3.]

Failure of a self-insurer to comply with RCW 51.14.120 and 51.14.130 shall subject the self-insurer to a penalty under RCW 51.48.080, which shall accrue for the benefit of the employee. The director shall issue an order conforming with RCW 51.52.050 determining whether a violatio…

(1) For the purposes of this section, "hospital" means a hospital as defined in RCW 70.41.020 or a behavioral health hospital regulated under chapter 71.12 RCW, but does not include beds utilized by a comprehensive cancer center for cancer research.(2)(a) Any two or more employer…