Tag Archives: Essential Workers

Washington COVID-19 Immigrant Relief Fund

The Washington COVID-19 Immigrant Relief Fund was set up to support undocumented immigrants. All of us are being impacted by COVID-19, but many people in Washington aren’t eligible for federal stimulus funds or unemployment insurance because of immigration status. Now, they can apply for a one-time direct payment of $1,000, up to $3,000 per household.

In Washington State, immigrants have always been neighbors and essential workers. They help keep the economy strong, contribute to our communities, and care for our families.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, immigrant families have been at the highest risk for getting the virus, losing work, or needing to support family members in new ways. The federal government intentionally left millions of people out of much-needed financial support, based on immigration status.

All of us who call Washington home deserve support to make it through this time. That’s why immigrant-led organizations partnered with the Governor’s office to establish the Washington COVID-19 Immigrant Relief Fund. This year, they will distribute $40 million in CARES Act funds allocated to Washington to support immigrants in Washington who are ineligible for other federal funds or unemployment insurance due to their immigration status.

Who Can Apply, and How

People in need of this assistance can apply to receive a $1,000 one-time direct payment (up to $3,000 per household). Your information will never be voluntarily shared with the government or ICE, and the public charge rule should not apply for this fund. You can get help with your application in multiple languages.

Apply for the Washington COVID-19 Immigrant Relief Fund

To apply for the relief fund, you must:

  • Be a Washington resident
  • Be at least 18 years old
  • Have been been significantly affected by the pandemic (such as losing work, being infected by the virus, or caring for a family member who was infected)
  • Not be eligible to receive federal stimulus funds or unemployment insurance because of immigration status

The last day to apply is December 6th.

Applications will be accepted on a first come, first served basis since the total fund is limited. Applications will be prioritized by those in greatest need.

Please share this information broadly. Together, we can be neighbors taking care of neighbors.

Prior Posts on Related Topics

Choose the Right Face Mask

New DLI web tool helps you choose the right face mask or covering.

Most Workers Must Wear a Mask

Most workers in Washington have to wear a mask or face covering at work under coronavirus workplace safety and health requirements that took effect June 8th.

With some exceptions, workers must wear some type of face covering or mask to help limit the spread of the coronavirus to those around them. Other higher-risk jobs may require respirators to protect the worker from infection by patients or clients.

Under the requirements, employers must provide the face coverings and masks to employees at no charge. Workers can bring their own face coverings and masks as well, as long as they meet requirements.

Choose the Right Face Mask

Choosing the correct mask for COVID-19 prevention at work just got easier and quicker if you use Washington State’s Department of Labor and Industries’ (DLI’s) new  web-based e-tool  from your mobile device or computer.

Although not intended for hospitals, clinics or other treatment facilities, the e-tool is designed to help most businesses make informed choices based on the level of risk and whether users are working alone, indoors, outdoors, or in a vehicle.

The e-tool also includes links to other helpful information including videos on how to correctly put on and remove masks, answers to common questions about masks and DLI’s “Which Mask for Which Task?” booklet.

We hope you’ll enjoy the convenience this eTool offers and share it with others in your safety network.

Where to find more info

Please visit L&I’s Coronavirus safety and health overview page for prevention materials and links to policies, requirements, and helpful resources about COVID-19 safety for healthcare professionals, agricultural workers, airline employees, construction crews, childcare workers, grocery workers, dental workers and many other occupations.

Prior Posts on Related Topics

COVID-19 and Workers’ Compensation

Exposure to the Coronavirus, development of COVID-19 and workers’ compensation can be connected. In some cases, workers with COVID-19 may be able to file a workers’ compensation claim in Washington State. Allowance of a claim is possible as an occupational disease according to the Department of Labor and Industries, which generally means that there must be something “distinctive” about the type of employment in which the individual is exposed to the virus (as opposed to simply a coincidental exposure).

COVID-19 Pandemic is Ongoing in Washington State

The Coronavirus is highly contagious and easily transmissible. It is now present throughout the country, with some areas more saturated than others. Although the overall case numbers in Washington State are better than many other states, we have not yet bent the curve to bring case numbers down to baseline. Instead, most areas are holding steady in the mid-range of our case numbers. Some areas, such as Yakima County, remain hotspots.

Governor Inslee recently visited Yakima County to address the county’s high rate of infection. The rate of transmission reflects the number of people each infected person would be expected to transmit the virus to, with a rate of 1 or fewer allowing for a decline in cases or over 1 an expansion of cases.

The Yakima Health District said that Yakima County’s transmission rate was 2 to 2.5 while Western Washington’s rate is under 1, according to reporting by the Yakima Herald. The rate of COVID-19 spread in Yakima County is 27 times that of King County, the state’s largest county, per the Governor’s press release about his visit.

Yakima County Encourages Taking Precautions to Reduce the Spread of the Coronavirus.

Governor Inslee recently announced that he intended to make mask-wearing mandatory in Yakima County to help curb the spread of COVID-19. No word yet as to how Yakima County’s “constitutional sheriff” Robert Udell will enforce a mask-wearing order, which he has previously suggested would violate some inchoate constitutional provision.

In King County, where our firm is located, we have only just entered Phase Two of reopening. Our case numbers have ticked back up a bit in recent days. Steps are being taken here to reinforce the message that precautions still need to be taken as more businesses reopen.

Occupational Disease Claims Explained

An occupational disease claim covers workers who develop a health condition due to exposure to substances, diseases, or injurious conditions on the job. An occupational disease claim can cover a variety of conditions that result from repetitive micro-traumas, such as physical injuries due to overuse, exposures to infectious agents, or exposures to toxic substances.

In order for such a claim to be allowed, the Department of Labor and Industries needs to find that the claimed medical condition resulted from exposure on the job, on a more-probable-than-not basis. In addition, that exposure must be due to “distinctive conditions” of employment. This does not necessarily mean that there is a higher prevalence of an injury or medical condition arising from your type of employment than there is in the general labor market overall, just that some distinctive aspect of your job led to the exposure/overexertion.

As an example, nurses and other medical professionals are exposed to various diseases and infections on a daily basis, in spite of the numerous precautions against infection taken by hospitals and doctors’ offices to prevent the spread of disease. Conversely, many people in all walks of life may be exposed to individuals with transmissible diseases or infections, but in the case of the medical professional, their job distinctly places them in the path of infection as compared to the general public or all employments generally.

Coronavirus, COVID-19 and Workers’ Compensation Claims

Workers with significant exposures on-the-job, or with specific conditions of their employment exposing them to the virus, could file a claim and potentially receive benefits. With exposure to the Coronavirus rather commonplace within our communities, the connection between work exposure and development of COVID-19 must be direct and clear in order for a claim to be allowed. In the case of the Coronavirus, while you do not necessarily need to identify the specific patient or person to whom you were exposed, the ability to show that your job involved exposure to known cases of the virus would probably be required.

Washington State has issued guidance for the Department of Labor and Industries (DLI) that there should be a presumption that the onset of COVID-19 is related to work exposures for some frontline workers, including healthcare workers and medical professionals. If a period of quarantine is medically necessary, the workers’ compensation claim would pay time loss compensation for these workers, even if they are not ill, for up to 14 days.

Other frontline workers, especially those performing essential services in high-risk environments, could also be entitled to benefits under a workers’ compensation claim. For claimants working in jobs not explicitly covered under the presumption of work relatedness, each claim will be reviewed on an individual, case-by-case basis. Specific criteria must be met for a claim to be allowed.

Unfortunately, although DLI’s guidance is great news for frontline healthcare workers, for most other people the guidance incorrectly states the legal standard for allowing an occupational disease claim. For instance, DLI suggests that there must be “an increased risk or greater likelihood of contracting the condition” in the person’s particular employment. The Washington State Supreme Court has rejected the “increased risk” test (elsewhere referred to as the “positional risk” doctrine) in several cases, most recently in Street v. Weyerhaeuser, 189 Wn. 2d 187, 200-01 (2018).

If you believe you have been exposed to the Coronavirus and developed COVID-19 due to an on-the-job exposure, you should contact an attorney. If you have questions about COVID-19 and workers’ compensation, our firm is available to assist you.

Benefits Under a Workers’ Compensation Claim

The benefits available would include time loss compensation for the days the worker is unable to work due to quarantine or illness. The claim would cover the cost of allowed medical treatment. In many cases, if there is no onset of symptoms or recovery from illness happens quickly, there may be relatively little compensation paid under a claim.

In some cases, people face hospitalization and extended periods of recovery. In King County, current data shows that 16.8% of positive cases require hospitalization. The King County daily summary dashboard provides statistics about testing numbers and rates for positive results, hospitalizations and deaths. The graph displays data for the county overall as well as by city. Closer inspection reveals that the rates for positive test results, hospitalizations and deaths are better – and worse – in different parts of the county.

UPDATE: As of today, January 20, 2021, the hospitalization rate in King County is now down to 6.4% of all positive cases. We are thankful for the improvement. – Kit

Medical expenses can quickly add up, and time lost from work may be greater than one would expect.

Permanent Impairment After COVID-19

In most cases, there are no lasting effects that remain after recovery from COVID-19. However, it is now becoming clear that there can be permanent effects from COVID-19 in some cases, even for people who recover without the need for hospitalization.

If there is permanent residual impairment after COVID-19, an allowed workers’ compensation claim would provide a monetary impairment award once the claim closes. The most common reported permanent effects are connected to impaired lung function. There are also reports of stroke, kidney, liver and heart conditions that remain after recovery from COVID-19.

Impairment awards paid at claim closure are based on ratings of permanent impairment made by a physician. For injury to internal organs, the State uses a category system for rating impairment. Each category relates to a set of symptoms present, with higher categories compensating for higher levels of impairment due to greater loss of function.

In the rare case where death results, the worker’s family could receive a burial benefit and compensation for the loss of life due to the work exposure and illness.

Filing a Claim for COVID-19

For those that are diagnosed with COVID-19 that were significantly exposed to the Coronavirus on-the-job, a claim may be filed with the Department of Labor and Industries. A claim can be filed:

  • Online via DLI’s FileFast tool.
  • By phone: 1-877-561-3453 (FILE).
  • At your doctor’s office (if you complete the Report of Accident at your doctor’s office, the doctor files the form for you).

You can watch a DLI video that generally describes the process for filing a claim if you need more information about the steps to be taken.

More Information and Resources

DLI has a page of information and links to resources dedicated to answering questions about COVID-19 and workers’ compensation. This includes questions raised by employers and businesses, injured workers whose non-COVID claims have been impacted by the social changes brought on by the virus, as well as workers who believe they have developed COVID-19 through work exposure.

The Washington Department of Health has a COVID-19 Information Line: 1-800-525-0127. Phone lines are staffed from 6 am – 10 pm. Interpreter services are available in multiple languages.

Our intent in sharing this information is not to spur a flood of baseless claim filing. The truth is that exposure to the Coronavirus on the job could have a significant impact on a worker and their family. In those rare circumstances where the facts line up to support allowance of a claim, the benefits available under a workers’ compensation claim could help to alleviate this impact.

If you have questions about COVID-19 and workers’ compensation, or if your claim was denied, please feel free to contact our firm. We offer a free case analysis, and would be happy to discuss your specific circumstances with you.

Prior Posts on Related Topics

COVID-19 Safety for Meat Packing Plants

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued joint guidelines on COVID-19 safety for meat packing and processing plants on April 26, 2020. Meat and poultry processing facilities are a component of the critical infrastructure within the Food and Agriculture Sector.

President Trump found food-processing workers bear a special responsibility to maintain their normal schedules during this national emergency. He then issued his April 28, 2020 Executive Order with respect to food supply chain resources  to ensure that meat and poultry processors continue operations.

“Workers involved in meat and poultry processing are not exposed to SARS-CoV-2 through the meat products they handle. However, their work environments—processing lines and other areas in busy plants where they have close contact with coworkers and supervisors—may contribute substantially to their potential exposures.“

– Interim Guidance from CDC and OSHA
Distinctive Risks for Meat and Poultry Processing Workers and Employers

The CDC/OSHA Guidance for Meat and Poultry Processing Workers and Employers outlines exposure risks among meat and poultry processing workers.

Distinctive factors that affect workers’ risk for exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in meat and poultry processing workplaces include:

  • Distance between workers – meat and poultry processing workers often work close to one another on processing lines. Workers may also be near one another at other times, such as when clocking in or out, during breaks, or in locker/changing rooms.
  • Duration of contact – meat and poultry processing workers often have prolonged closeness to coworkers (e.g., for 10-12 hours per shift). Continued contact with potentially infectious individuals increases the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
  • Type of contact – meat and poultry processing workers may be exposed to the infectious virus through respiratory droplets in the air – for example, when workers in the plant who have the virus cough or sneeze. It is also possible that exposure could occur from contact with contaminated surfaces or objects, such as tools, workstations, or break room tables. Shared spaces such as break rooms, locker rooms, and entrances/exits to the facility may contribute to their risk.
  • Other distinctive factors that may increase risk among these workers include:
    • A common practice at some workplaces of sharing transportation such as ride-share vans or shuttle vehicles, car-pools, and public transportation
    • Frequent contact with fellow workers in community settings in areas where there is ongoing community transmission.
Recommendations for Workplace Safety

The CDC/OSHA guidelines go into great detail to outline the steps that employers can take to ensure COVID-19 safety for meat packing and processing plants. These include:

  • Create a COVID-19 assessment and control plan
  • Engineering Controls – Modify the alignment of workstations, including along processing lines, etc.
  • Administrative Controls –  promote social distancing, analyze sick leave policies, etc.
  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
  • Educate and train workers and supervisors about how they can reduce the spread of COVID-19
  • Cleaning and disinfection in meat and poultry processing
  • Screening and monitoring of workers for COVID-19
  • Managing sick workers
  • Addressing return to work
  • Workers’ rights
Filing a Complaint – Concerns About Safety and Health

Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 29 USC 660(c), prohibits employers from retaliating against workers for raising concerns about safety and health conditions. Additionally, OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Programexternal icon enforces the provisions of more than 20 industry-specific federal laws protecting employees from retaliation for raising or reporting concerns about hazards or violations of various airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health insurance reform, motor vehicle safety, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, railroad, maritime, securities, and tax laws. OSHA encourages workers who suffer such retaliation to submit a complaint to OSHA as soon as possible in order to file their complaint within the legal time limits, some of which may be as short as 30 days from the date they learned of or experienced retaliation.

An employee can file a complaint with OSHA if they have concerns about proper implementation of COVID-19 safety for meat packing and processing workers. A complaint can be filed by visiting or calling the local OSHA office; sending a written complaint via fax, mail, or email to the closest OSHA office; or filing a complaint online. No particular form is required, and complaints may be submitted in any language. OSHA has contact information, here.

Coronavirus on the Job – Workers’ Compensation

Washington Governor Jay Inslee and and Department of Labor and Industries Director Joel Sacks issued a press release concerning the Department’s policy on workers’ compensation coverage related to exposures to Coronavirus on the job.

Under the State’s clarified policy, workers’ compensation benefits must be provided to health care workers and first responders. The policy also applies to others who may have accepted claims for exposure to COVID-19; for example, those who are working in facilities with documented exposures or others whose claims may be approved.

Workers who are quarantined by a physician or public health officer are entitled to workers compensation benefits during the time they’re quarantined after being exposed to COVID-19 on the job. If they develop the coronavirus, workers’ compensation benefits would be provided during their period of illness and recovery, as well, under an allowed claim.

See our prior post, DLI NEWS: CORONAVIRUS ON THE JOB, for more details.