A popular state program that pays employers for providing light duty for workers with a temporary disability may be getting an extra cash infusion under a bipartisan bill approved Tuesday in the state House.
Under Washington’s Stay at Work Program, the state provides wage subsidies and other incentives to employers who provide light duty and transitional work to injured workers. That includes 50 percent of the basic gross wages for a maximum of 66 workdays within a two-year period up to 10-thousand dollars.
Spokane Valley Representative Suzanne Schmidt is the author of House Bill 2127.
“We’re going to expand that to 25-thousand dollars or 105 days, which is really more appropriate, because the average injured worker that’s going to be on a light-duty job is usually about 90-days. So that way, we’ll make sure and cover the time that they’re in that light-duty position.”
Schmidt’s measure would also provide additional assistance for employers who hire workers with a permanent disability.
The bill passed the House unanimously. It now goes to the Senate for further consideration.
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