The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Washington; Department of Labor and Industries · Washington
- Level
- Sector regulator
- Authority
- RCW 49.17.010,.040,.050,.060; ESSB 5115; SSB 5254
- Issued
- 2021-08-10 Aug. 10, 2021
- Effective
- 2021-08-10 (immediately upon filing) (read as 2021-08-10)
- End
- Readopted and made permanent thereafter; applicable for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency (read as 2021-09-30)
- In force
- Aug. 10, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2021
- Quarters
- 2021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Workplace rulesQuarantine and isolationOther
- Addressees
- every Washington employer (notification duties); employers with 50 or more covered employees at a workplace or worksite (outbreak reporting)
- Functions reached
- EMP
- HR (24-hour outbreak reporting, exposure notification in employees' languages, PPE accommodation)
- WF (workers' compensation presumption for frontline employees under RCW 51.32.181)
- OP administration
- Collection
- State labor and workplace-safety agencies AGY-ST-LABOR-WORKPLACE
Operative words
Purpose: The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) is responding to the 2021 passage of Substitute Senate Bill 5254 (SSB 5254) regarding voluntary use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during a state of emergency, and Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5115 (ESSB 5115), also known as the Health Emergency Labor Standards Act (HELSA). This rulemaking creates new sections of WAC, regarding public health emergency reporting and notification requirements for infectious and contagious disease. The emergency rule includes requirements for when there is a public health emergency for an infectious or contagious disease and as such, the requirements are applicable to COVID-19. Under the emergency rule: Employers with 50 or more covered employees at a workplace or worksite are required to report infectious or contagious [disease outbreaks to L&I within 24 hours].
Enforcement
RCW 49.17.180 citations and penalties; RCW 49.17.062-.064 anti-discrimination protections
Notes
A Q3 2021 instrument adopted Aug. 10, 2021 and in force on Sept. 30, 2021; reached every Washington employer. Rule text is Ex. 080; the enacting statute's legislative summary is Ex. 008.