State law now makes it easier for ill Hanford workers to get paid. The feds are fighting it
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has signed into law an amendment that should allow more ill Hanford workers or their survivors to get state worker compensation claims approved.
A new state law took effect in June 2018 to remove the burden of proof for workers claiming that exposures to radioactive or other hazardous chemicals caused many cancers, respiratory illnesses or neurological diseases.
Instead, the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries is required to assume those illnesses were caused by workplace exposures across much of Hanford, unless the Department of Energy can provide convincing evidence otherwise.
The bill as passed last year says workers can claim compensation for cancer if a medical exam when they started work at Hanford showed no evidence of cancer.
But it became clear as claims were filed under the new law that some workers had not been given a pre-employment medical exam.
The amendment, requested by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, waives the proof of no cancer at the start of employment if the qualifying medical exam was not given.
The change takes effect July 28.
The amendment was approved as the new state law is under attack in a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Lawsuit would overturn worker comp law
The Justice Department has asked Judge Stanley Bastian in the Eastern Washington District U.S. Court to overturn the law as unconstitutional.
It says the law violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution by attempting to regulate the federal government and discriminating against it with heightened liability for workers’ compensation.
DOE is self-insured for state workers’ compensation claims, with the state Department of Labor and Industries making the decision on whether claims are approved or denied.
DOE has estimated that the new law would allow about 100,000 past and current Hanford contractor employees to file state worker compensation claims or refile denied claims.
Hanford is expected to employ additional Hanford contractor employees for environmental cleanup wok for decades to come.
Washington state has asked Bastian to uphold the new law, saying that DOE consented in a a self-insurance renewal agreement to comply with state workers’ compensation laws after the new law took effect in June.
It also is arguing that Congress gave the state authority to apply their workers’ comp laws to protect employees of federal contractors.
Arguments in the case will be heard May 22 in the Richland federal courthouse.
For information about filing a claim in state or federal compensation programs for ill Hanford workers, contact the Hanford Workforce Engagement Center at 309 Bradley, Blvd, Suite 120, Richland. The phone number is 509-376-4932.
This story was originally published April 28, 2019 at 3:36 PM.