SB 5463 Washington Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Concerning the duties of industrial insurance self-insured employers and third-party administrators.

Senate Bill 5463 expands and clarifies the duties of all self-insured employers and their third-party administrators concerning industrial insurance claims in Washington state. It establishes a clear duty of good faith and fair dealing towards workers, prohibiting actions like coercing workers to accept less than due compensation. The bill empowers the Department of Labor & Industries to investigate violations, impose penalties payable to workers, and mandate corrective actions for repeated failures to uphold this duty. Employers who repeatedly violate these good faith requirements or fail to comply with corrective actions may ultimately have their self-insurer certification withdrawn.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
House Passage
Apr 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Jan 23, 2025 Signed May 17, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill Passed Legislature · 6 edits
MODERATE
This bill adds a formal certification of enrollment page to the text and significantly strengthens enforcement against self-insurers who repeatedly violate their duty of good faith and fair dealing. The changes introduce stricter penalties, including mandatory probation and automatic withdrawal of certification for repeat offenders, while clarifying that minor errors do not count as violations.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on industrial insurance self-insurers, but the enforcement mechanisms now apply more rigorously to repeat violators of the duty of good faith and fair dealing.
TECHNICAL

Added a formal 'Certification of Enrollment' page at the beginning of the bill text to document its passage by the Senate and House.

REQUIREMENT

Modified the criteria for decertifying self-insurers to explicitly include failure to comply with corrective actions or court orders, in addition to repeated violations of the duty of good faith.

Added a provision stating that inadvertent or minor errors and delays are not considered violations of the duty of good faith and fair dealing.

ENFORCEMENT

Added new requirements mandating that the department impose corrective actions, such as probation, for self-insurers found to have violated the duty of good faith two or more times within three years.

Established a rule that if a self-insurer commits two or more violations within two years after completing a prior corrective action, their certification must be automatically withdrawn.

DEFINITION

Clarified the definition of 'Private sector firefighter employer' to specify that it applies only to the employer's relationship with their own firefighters.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 22, 2025 · House Apr 11, 2025

How they voted

3020
Passed
Total votes 50
Apr 22, 2025
D Democratic30
28 Yea 2 Nay
93% Yea
R Republican20
2 Yea 18 Nay
90% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
34
Key actions
20
Committee
16
May 17, 2025
Signed into law
Governor signed.
executive
Apr 26, 2025
Lower · Passed
Speaker signed.
lower
Apr 25, 2025
Upper · Passed
President signed.
upper
Apr 22, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed final passage; yeas, 28; nays, 20; absent, 0; excused, 0.
upper
Apr 22, 2025
Upper · Passed
Senate concurred in House amendments.
upper
Apr 11, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee amendment(s) adopted as amended.
lower
Apr 11, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (65-33-2)
house
Apr 8, 2025
Committee
Referred to Rules 2 Review.
lower
Apr 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Minority; without recommendation.
lower
Apr 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Minority; do not pass.
lower
Apr 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
APP - Majority; do pass with amendment(s).
lower
Apr 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Executive action taken in the House Committee on Appropriations at 9:00 AM.
lower
Apr 3, 2025
Lower · Passed
Public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations at 1:30 PM.
lower
Mar 25, 2025
Committee
Referred to Appropriations.
lower
Mar 21, 2025
Lower · Passed
Minority; without recommendation.
lower
Mar 21, 2025
Lower · Passed
LAWS - Majority; do pass.
lower
Mar 21, 2025
Lower · Passed
Executive action taken in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards at 10:30 AM.
lower
Mar 18, 2025
Lower · Passed
Public hearing in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards at 10:30 AM.
lower
Feb 11, 2025
Upper · Passed
Minority; do not pass.
upper
Feb 11, 2025
Upper · Passed
LC - Majority; do pass.
upper
Feb 11, 2025
Upper · Passed
Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce at 10:30 AM.
upper
Feb 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce at 10:30 AM.
upper
1 primary · 18 co-sponsors

Sponsors