Writing About Labor & Industries

Facts & figures about L&I

• For an agency overview, read L&I's 2008 Annual Report (2.25 MB PDF).
  • Workers’ compensation insurance for 168,000 employers and 2.5 million workers.
  • $1.6 billion in premiums collected.
  • $1.7 billion in benefits paid to injured workers.
  • Workplace hazards fixed: 32,000.
  • Unpaid wages collected: $1.9 million.
  • Electrical wiring jobs inspected: 280,000.
  • Boilers and elevators inspected: 36,400.
  • Apprentices registered: 16,000.
• For detailed information about workers' compensation, read L&I's 2010 Year in Review (386 KB PDF):
  • 2010 highlights
  • Do business with L&I online
  • Statistics at a Glance
  • Financial Summary

Story ideas

Workplace Safety: (Contact: Hector Castro, 360-902-6043)

• The hazards inspectors and safety consultants most often find in Washington workplaces.
• Washington’s most hazardous industries.
• Teen injuries in the workplace.

Consumer help: (Contact: Selena Davis, 360-902-6878)

• It’s “buyer beware” for home building and remodeling projects in Washington State. Find out our top tips for consumers.
• L&I’s contractor registration program reaches thousands of consumers each year at various fairs, home shows and workshops across the state.
• Amusement ride companies are required to report accidents to L&I.

Tips for businesses: (Contact: Brian Criss, 360-902-5417)

• Doing business with L&I online: Like many state agencies, L&I is responding to customer requests for online services — from bill-paying to trades registrations to form downloads.

Other

• Plain Talk: How L&I is changing a culture of “bureaucratese” to streamline our processes, lower costs, and improve service.
  (Contact: Dana Botka, 360-902-5408).
• L&I goes bilingual: Reaching out to Washington’s many Spanish-speaking workers.
  (Contact: Lisa Heaton, 360-902-5411).
• How L&I’s own customers are shaping its agency website —from wording to organization.
  (Contact: Brian Criss, 360-902-5417).
• Did you know that the average age of trade apprentices in Washington is 31? Find out why these popular training-while-earning programs are not just for entry-level workers anymore.
  (Contact: Selena Davis, 360-902-6878).

Writing About Workplace Accidents

Are you covering a workplace accident or safety citation? Here's the background information on DOSH:

DOSH: “Washington’s OSHA”

Employers are required to provide safe and healthy worksites and protect their workers from hazards. They must meet certain requirements, including having an accident prevention plan tailored to the hazards of a particular worksite. In addition, certain high-hazard industries, such as construction, agriculture and logging, have industry-specific standards that must be met. These requirements are in the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act, or WISHA.

The Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) is the state equivalent of the federal OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). By law, the DOSH state program must meet or exceed all OSHA requirements. All workplace consultations and inspections are done by L&I staff.

L&I conducts about 7,000 workplace safety and health inspections annually.

When an accident happens, we investigate

By law, DOSH must investigate all occupational fatalities and all catastrophic incidences (any time a worker is hospitalized) in workplaces where employees are present. Employers must notify L&I within eight hours of this type of accident.

An investigation also may be triggered by an employee complaint, a referral from another agency, or when otherwise brought to our attention, such as a breaking news story involving a workplace accident.

The primary focus of a DOSH investigation is to determine whether the employer was protecting its workers properly at the time the accident happened. The investigator will look at what happened — and why — in making this determination.

If a citation is issued

An employer may be found to have one or more of the following levels of violations:

• General citations: For violations not likely to result in serious injury or death. Penalties typically are not assessed for general violations, but the employer must correct the violation.
• Serious violations: For violations likely to result in serious injury or death. Penalties are based on the probability that an injury could happen and how severe the related injuries are likely to be. The penalty is then adjusted on the basis of the employer’s good-faith efforts to comply with regulations, past compliance history, and the number of workers who were exposed. By law, L&I cannot fine an employer more than $7,000. The average DOSH fine is $1,200.
• Willful violations: If the employer intentionally violated safety or health rules, or knew that a violation was occurring and was clearly indifferent to correcting it. Willful violations are first calculated as serious and then multiplied by ten. Thus, a maximum $7,000 penalty for a serious violation becomes a maximum $70,000 penalty for a willful violation.

The employer has 15 business days to appeal a DOSH citation.

Funds collected from penalties go into the supplemental pension fund to benefit injured workers and the surviving family members of workers who are killed on the job.