Washington Administrative Code › Title 296 - Labor and Industries, Department of › Chapter 296-27 - Recordkeeping and reporting › Section 296-27-01103 - Determination of work-relatedness

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
			 The employer must consider an injury or illness to be work-related if an event
			 or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the
			 resulting condition or significantly aggravated a preexisting injury or
			 illness. Work-relatedness is presumed for injuries and illnesses resulting from
			 events or exposures occurring in the work environment, unless an exception in
			 subsection (2)(a) through (i) of this section specifically applies.
(2) An injury or illness occurring in the
			 work environment is not recordable or considered work-related if it meets one
			 of the following exceptions:
(a)At the time
			 of the injury or illness, the employee was present in the work environment as a
			 member of the public rather than as an employee.
(b)The injury or illness involves signs or
			 symptoms that surface at work but result solely from a nonwork-related event or
			 exposure that occurs outside the work environment.
(c) The injury or illness results solely from
			 voluntary participation in a wellness program or in a medical, fitness, or
			 recreational activity such as blood donation, physical examination, flu shot,
			 exercise class, racquetball, or baseball.
(d) The injury or illness is solely the
			 result of an employee eating, drinking, or preparing food or drink for personal
			 consumption (whether bought on the employer's premises or brought in). For
			 example, if the employee is injured by choking on a sandwich while in the
			 employer's establishment, the case would not be considered
			 work-related.
(e) The injury or
			 illness is solely the result of an employee doing personal tasks (unrelated to
			 their employment) at the establishment outside of the employee's assigned
			 working hours.
(f) The injury or
			 illness is solely the result of personal grooming, self-medication for a
			 nonwork-related condition, or is intentionally self-inflicted.
(g) The injury or illness is caused by a
			 motor vehicle accident and occurs on a company parking lot or company access
			 road while the employee is commuting to or from work.
(h) The illness is the common cold or
			 flu.
(i) The illness is a mental
			 illness. Mental illness will not be considered work-related unless the employee
			 voluntarily provides the employer with an opinion from a physician or other
			 licensed health care professional with appropriate training and experience
			 (psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, etc.) stating that
			 the employee has a mental illness that is work-related.
Notes:
1. If the employee is made ill by ingesting food
						contaminated by workplace contaminants (such as lead), or gets food poisoning
						from food supplied by the employer, the case would be considered work-related.
2. Contagious diseases such as tuberculosis, brucellosis,
						hepatitis A, or plague are considered work-related if the employee is infected
						at work.