LEGISLATIVE UPDATE -- 2014

During the last session of the legislature, very few bills affecting workers' compensation were passed. That is probably a good thing, as many of the bills which were introduced would have been harmful to injured workers.

Since the legislative session has just ended, we thought it might be interesting to describe the process by which a Bill becomes a law...

1. A Bill is introduced in either the Senate or the House of Representatives by a member.
2. The Bill is referred to a committee for a hearing.  The committee studies the Bill and may hold public hearings on it.  The committee can then pass, reject or take no action on the Bill.
3. If the committee passes a Bill, it reports the Bill to the House or Senate, and then the Bill is referred to the Rules Committee.
4. The Rules Committee can either place the Bill on the second reading calendar before the House or Senate or take no action.  If it reaches second reading, the Bill is subject to debate and amendment before it is placed on the third reading calendar where final passage takes place.
5. After a Bill passes either the House or the Senate, it goes to the opposite body.  If amendments are made in the other body, then the Bill is referred back to the House or Senate to see if they will agree to the changes.
6. If agreement cannot be reached, a Conference Committee of members of both the House and Senate may by appointed to see if they can agree on an acceptable Bill.
7. If the Bill is accepted and passed by both the House and the Senate, it is signed by the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate and sent to the Governor.
8. The Governor then either signs the Bill into law or may veto all or part of it.
9. If the Governor takes no action, it may still become law without his or her signature.

Wayne L. Williams
Williams, Wyckoff & Ostrander, PLLC

"BLACKFISH" DOCUMENTARY BRINGS BACK MEMORIES of BUDD INLET ORCA CAPTURE

By John Dodge - Staff writer
Originally from theolympian.com
Read the original article here
Photo courtesy San Juan Islands Tourism and Jim Maya

Sea World contractor Don Goldsberry made a huge tactical error on a Sunday afternoon in March 1976.
He herded a family of transient killer whales into Budd Inlet with airplanes, power boats and underwater explosives dropped in the shadow of the state Capitol and not far from The Evergreen State College, which was hosting whale scientists and biologists at the first-ever International Orca Symposium.

His high-powered pursuit also occurred right in front of former Secretary of State Ralph Munro, who was sailing in lower Budd Inlet with his wife and two other couples.

The Munro party didn’t like what they heard or saw as Goldsberry corraled six of the orcas in a net. Killer whales on each side of the net, near Athens Beach, cried out to each other in distress. They were victims of a federal permit that allowed Goldsberry to capture orcas and sell them into captivity so they could be trained to perform tricks for paying customers at marine parks and aquariums.

2013 COST of LIVING ADJUSTMENT (COLA)

The Department recently announced that the:

• The July 1, 2013 cost of living adjustment is slightly more than a 3.4% increase, and

• The new maximum time loss rate is $5,159.50/month or $171.98/day

Cost of living adjustments are not effective until the second July 1st following the injury.  So the cost of living adjustment does not apply unless the date of injury is prior to July 1, 2012.

Williams, Wyckoff & Ostrander, PLLC

NEW DIRECTOR of the DEPARTMENTof LABOR & INDUSTRIES

On January 10, 2013, Governor-Elect Jay Inslee announced he was appointing a new Director of the Department of Labor and Industries.

The Director is Joel Sacks, who was previously Deputy Commissioner of the State Employment Security Department.  Prior to that, Mr. Sacks had worked for five years for the Employment Security Department as an Assistant Commissioner.

Before working for the Employment Security Department, Mr. Sacks served as Deputy Director of Field Services at the State Department of Labor and Industries, and he had also served for four years in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the US Department of Labor.

Mr. Sacks has degrees in both political science and public administration.

Obviously, Mr. Sacks is very familiar with the workings of state government, and we look forward to him settling in and improving the Department of Labor and Industries.

Wayne Williams

Williams, Wyckoff & Ostrander, PLLC

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

WWO supports Grays Harbor Christmas for Kids and the Thurston County Bar Adopt a Family! Happy Holidays from WWO!

http://thurstoncountybar.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Adopt-a-family-letter.pdf

Williams, Wyckoff & Ostrander, PLLC

Wayne Williams

Douglas Wyckoff
Dane Ostrander 

HOW TO LOOK AT YOUR L&I CLAIM ON THE INTERNET

Have you ever wondered what was going on with your claim file?  Do you sometimes think your claims manager is not telling you everything?  Or, did you just get a written notice in the mail and cannot understand why it was sent?  Then, you need to look at your official L&I claim file.

About 10 years ago, I was appointed to a committee to design a web site that would let injured workers (as well as doctors and employers) see the same information that Labor & Industries claims mangers see.  After a long process, L&I launched its “Claim and Account Center,” known as CAC.  It is a web site that allows any injured worker to look at the same information that L&I uses to administer the claim.

The web site was designed to be easy to use without any real computer skills or training.  It was tested on random workers, who all felt it was a great tool.  It is easy, it is free, and it will answer many of your questions.

How do you get started?  First, you need to open an account with L&I.  Go to https://secureaccess.wa.gov/.  The page will look like this:

WSAJ

In addition to representing individual clients on a daily basis, we also try to protect the rights of all injured workers, whether we represent them or not.  That is why each of the attorneys in our office is an Eagle member of the Washington State Association for Justice (WSAJ).  This is a state wide group of trial lawyers who attempt to protect people’s rights within the civil justice system and the rights of injured workers.