Washington Administrative Code › Title 296 - Labor and Industries, Department of › Chapter 296-16 - Employer-Worker reemployment incentives › Section 296-16-150 - What benefits can an eligible employer receive from the preferred worker program?

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) In the sole
			 discretion of the supervisor of industrial insurance or the supervisor's
			 designee, an eligible employer, insured through the state fund or self-insured,
			 may receive benefits shown in the table below:
A preferred worker certified on or after
						January 1, 2016, who is hired by:
Employer
State Fund employer (pays premiums to
						L&I)
Self-insured employer
(a) Wage, clothing, and equipment
						reimbursements specified in subsection (2) of this section.
X
X
(b) Continuous employment incentive specified
						in subsection (3) of this section.
(c) Does not pay accident fund and medical
						aid fund premiums for hours worked by the preferred worker.
X
(d) Will not have the cost of any new claim
						filed by that preferred worker charged to their experience rating.
(e) Receives reimbursement from the second
						injury fund for all benefits paid on any new claim filed by that worker during
						the certification period.
X
(2) An
			 eligible employer, insured through the state fund or self-insured, may be
			 reimbursed for the following expenses actually incurred while employing a
			 preferred worker who was certified on or after January 1, 2016, at work
			 approved under WAC 296-16-145, performed during the worker's certification
			 period:
(a) Fifty percent of basic gross
			 wages paid to the worker for the work actually performed, for up to sixty-six
			 days in a twenty-four month period and a maximum of ten thousand dollars per
			 worker certification period.
(i) Basic gross
			 wages means the basic hourly wages or salary. Basic gross wages do not include
			 tips, commissions, bonuses, board, housing, fuel, health care, dental care,
			 vision care, per diem, reimbursements for work-related expenses, or any other
			 payments.
(ii) A partial day worked
			 counts as one day. Example: The worker works a four-hour shift. This counts as
			 one day out of the sixty-six.
(iii)
			 If the worker's single shift spans two calendar days, that shift counts as one
			 day. Example: The worker's single shift starts at 10:00 p.m., November 14th,
			 and continues until 6:30 a.m., November 15th. This counts as one day out of the
			 sixty-six.
(iv) The sixty-six days
			 do not have to be consecutive.
(v)
			 The employer may choose which sixty-six days to seek reimbursement
			 for.
(vi) The employer cannot be
			 reimbursed for dates the employer employed the worker that are more than
			 twenty-four months after the earliest day the department has already reimbursed
			 on the claim. Example: The first work date for which the employer was
			 reimbursed was February 1, 2016. The twenty-four month eligibility period ends
			 January 31, 2018.
(vii) The
			 employer must submit the request for reimbursement within one year of the date
			 the work was performed.
(viii) The
			 employer must submit to the department documentation such as payroll records
			 and time cards that verify the dates worked and basic gross wages
			 paid.