Policy 5.81 for Comment
Hello and thank you for subscribing to the department’s mailing list for Insurance Services’ policies. Today we are sending a claims administration policy for stakeholder feedback.
Policy 5.81 - Paying Loss of Earning Power Compensation, effective 02-09-1998, is updated.
Highlights of changes include:
- Modifying the See Also section to remove case law decisions, as these aren't included in policy anymore.
- Consolidating requirements for "injuries prior to May 7, 1993" and "injuries on or after May 7, 1993" into a category of "all dates of injury or disease manifestation." However, there still remains two methods for calculating loss of earning power (LEP) depending on the date of injury or manifestation.
- Providing clarity that the worker must be "able to return to work or be working" to receive LEP benefits.
- Updating language that explains a worker who chooses not to accept an approved, light, transitional, or modified duty job is now entitled to LEP based on the wages they would have earned at the transitional or light duty job.
- Adding language to reflect the department will now pay LEP benefits through legal fixity, rather than medical fixity, if the worker remains eligible.
- Removed language regarding when a worker misses work due to an unrelated condition and an employer pays sick leave. This information was placed in another resource.
- Added a policy point and explanatory statements to inform that LEP is based on reduced earning power and not fluctuations in the labor market.
- Removed language regarding a worker not entitled to LEP while receiving sick leave. This was placed in another resource.
- Added two policy points regarding when a worker is and isn't entitled to LEP when missing work.
- Clarified that when a reopened claim that was closed with a permanent partial disability award, LEP benefits are paid based on a comparison of current or available earnings to the updated wages from the job at the time of the original injury.
We are providing the existing policy and draft policy. If you have comments or suggestions for change, please email your reply to ClaimsRulesPolicy@LNI.WA.GOV by April 3, 2025. Please include the policy, section, and page number(s) with your comments.
Your feedback and comments are important to our policy process. Your comments will be reviewed and retained as part of our process. Copies of the final policy will be sent to you.
Thank you for your participation.
Keep Washington Safe and Working
If you encounter problems or have any questions, comments or suggestions about this mailing list, please feel free to send an email message to ClaimsRulesPolicy@LNI.WA.GOV or contact by telephone the Insurance Services’ policy program at 360-902-6932.
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