The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) updated its rulemaking website
Rules filed January 16 and January 21, 2025
For information on all L&I meetings and public hearings related to rulemaking, please visit our public participation calendar.
Division: Division of Occupational Safety & Health (DOSH)
Topic: Adoption (CR-103) – Monetary Penalties and Appeals
Brief Description: The purpose of this rulemaking is to amend Chapter 296-900 WAC, Administrative Rules, to update how base penalties are calculated in order to make penalties more effective. This rulemaking will also address concerns raised through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) State Activities Mandated Measures (SAMM) report that Washington penalties continue to be below the national average. OSHA uses the SAMM report to determine whether Washington State Plans are as effective as OSHA.
The adopted rule includes the following changes:
- The base penalty rate will be adjusted for inflation every year based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U).
- The base penalty amount may also be increased by an additional 2% if DOSH is not within 25% of the national penalty average determined by OSHA.
- Numbering definitions to aid in education and research.
- Removing the terms “you” and “we” and replacing with “employee” and “employer” to provide clarity.
- Removing the term “Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act” or “WISHA” and replacing with “DOSH” where the term is meant to refer to DOSH.
- Removing outdated fax number information.
- Updating USPS mail and email resources for contacting L&I.
Effective date: February 17, 2025
Additional information about this rulemaking:
CR-103 Adoption
Adoption Language
Concise Explanatory Statement (CES)
Division: Division of Occupational Safety & Health (DOSH)
Topic: Preproposal (CR-101) – Tower Crane Permit & Safety Requirements (2SHB 2022 Implementation)
Brief Description: The purpose of this rulemaking is to consider amending Chapter 296-155 WAC, Part L, Cranes, rigging, and personnel lifting, to implement the requirements of Sections of 4 and 6 of Second Substitute House Bill 2022 (Chapter 311, Laws of 2024) codified under RCW 49.17.435 and 49.17.440. L&I must establish, by rule, a permit for the performance of any work involving the operation, assembly, disassembly, or reconfiguration of a tower crane.
Some of the topics which will be addressed in this rulemaking include:
- Permit requirements related to tower cranes.
- Permit application and safety conference.
- Permit denials, suspensions and revocations.
- Requirements of prime contractors.
- Other housekeeping changes.
Additional information about this rulemaking:
CR-101 Preproposal
Division: Field Services and Public Safety (Contractor Registration Program)
Topic: Proposal (CR-102) – Contractor Registration Fees Increase (FY26)
Brief Description: The purpose of this rulemaking is to propose amendments to the Contractor Registration fees under WAC 296-200A-900. The proposed amendments would increase fees by the fiscal growth factor of 6.41% to cover operating expenses for L&I’s Contractor Registration Program. This is the Office of Financial Management’s maximum allowable fiscal growth factor rate for fiscal year 2026. The Contractor Registration Program registers contractors to ensure that all general and specialty contractors operating in Washington State have appropriate bonding and insurance. The current fee levels are insufficient to cover current Program expenses. The fee increase is necessary to ensure that revenues match expenditures.
Public hearing date: February 25, 2025 (Tumwater/virtual/phone)
Written comments due by: February 25, 2025, 5:00 p.m.
Intended adoption date: April 22, 2025
Additional information about this rulemaking:
CR-102 Proposal
Proposal Language
Division: Fraud Prevention and Labor Standards (Employment Standards)
Topic: Proposal (CR-102) – Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (SHB 1905 Implementation)
Brief Description: The purpose of this rulemaking is to propose rules to implement Substitute House Bill 1905 (SHB 1905), Chapter 353, Laws of 2024. SHB 1905 expands existing protections against pay and promotion discrimination based on gender found in Chapter 49.58 RCW, the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act. SHB 1905 extends the protections to additional protected classes including but not limited to age, race, and sexual orientation. L&I is proposing rules to clarify and implement the provisions of SHB 1905 under a new chapter, Chapter 296-123 WAC, Equal Pay and Opportunities.
L&I is also proposing rules to clarify other requirements created by Chapter 49.58 RCW, including:
- The free discussion of wages and salary.
- Protection against retaliation.
- Wage and salary history privacy.
- Disclosure of wage scale, salary range, and benefits on a job posting.
The proposed rules explain L&I’s enforcement of Chapter 49.58 RCW, and describe L&I’s complaint investigation and resolution processes.
Public hearing dates: March 4, 2025 (virtual/phone)
March 6, 2025 (Tumwater)
Written comments due by: March 19, 2025, 5:00 p.m.
Intended adoption date: May 21, 2025
Additional information about this rulemaking:
CR-102 Proposal
Proposal Language
Preliminary Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA)
Division: Insurance Services (Health Services Analysis)
Topic: Adoption (CR-103) – Physician Assistant Billing Procedure (repeal)
Brief Description: This rulemaking repeals WAC 296-20-12501 in its entirety. WAC 296-20-12501 requires physician assistants to be paid at 90% of the value listed in the fee schedule for services they perform. This change allows L&I to pay physician assistants at parity with other providers. The pay differential in rule was put in place when physician assistants were exclusively supervised by other providers. Due to the passage of Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2041 (ESHB 2041), Chapter 62, Laws of 2024, physician assistants may now practice autonomously in collaborative agreements. Therefore, it no longer makes sense to pay them less than other providers who practice independently.
Effective date: March 1, 2025
Additional information about this rulemaking:
CR-103 Repeal
Repealer Language
Final Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA)
Concise Explanatory Statement (CES)
Division: Insurance Services (Legal Services)
Topic: Adoption (CR-103) – Pension Discount Rate 2025
Brief Description: The purpose of this rulemaking is to lower the pension discount rate (PDR) under WAC 296-14-8810 to better align with the rate of return for long term treasuries for self-insured pensions. The PDR is the interest rate used to account for the time value of money when evaluating the present value of future pension payments. This rule lowers the PDR for self-insured employers from 5.5% to 5.4%.
Effective date: April 1, 2025
Additional information about this rulemaking:
CR-103 Adoption
Adoption Language
Concise Explanatory Statement (CES)
Division: Insurance Services (Office of the Medical Director)
Topic: Proposal (CR-102) – Psychologists as Attending Providers (HB 1197 Implementation)
Brief Description: The purpose of this rulemaking is to implement House Bill 1197 (Chapter 171, Laws of 2023), Defining attending provider and clarifying other provider functions for workers' compensation claims, and adding psychologists as attending providers for mental health only claims. HB 1197 indicates who can be attending providers on Washington’s workers’ compensation claims. It includes providers who are already in the definition of “attending provider” in WAC 296-20-01002 Definitions, and adds “psychologists in the case of claims solely for mental health conditions, and physician assistants”. To reflect that change L&I is proposing to add those two provider types to the definition of “attending provider” in WAC 296-20-01002 and to other applicable WACs in Title 296 WAC.
L&I is also proposing amendments to Title 296 WAC for clarity and for consistency with HB 1197. One example is that the current rule on the “Attending provider report” requires the condition(s) diagnosed including the current federally adopted International Classification of Diseases, Clinically Modified (ICD-CM) codes. The proposed rule clarifies that, for a mental health condition(s), the report must also include the condition(s) diagnosed using the edition of the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) designated by L&I. While this is new to the “attending provider report”, it reflects current practice.
In addition, L&I is proposing to amend WAC 296-20-01501 Physician assistant rules to align language with Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2041 (Chapter 62, Laws of 2024), Physician assistant collaborative practice, and the Department of Health/Washington Medical Commissions’ corresponding rule updates to Chapter 246-918 WAC. ESHB 2041 authorizes physician assistants to engage in a collaborative practice where a written agreement describes the manner in which the physician assistant is supervised by or collaborates with at least one physician. Examples of language L&I is proposing include a reference to physician assistants working under a collaboration agreement as defined in the Department of Health statute RCW 18.71A.010, and other amended language on credentialing.
Public hearing date: February 26, 2025 (Tumwater/virtual/phone)
Written comments due by: February 28, 2025, 5:00 p.m.
Intended adoption date: May 20, 2025
Additional information about this rulemaking:
CR-102 Proposal
Proposal Language
Preliminary Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA)
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