Workers' Compensation Defense
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Washington Labor and Industries extends (re)certification deadlines

From an August 14, 2020, Washington Labor and Industries announcement:

L&I is extending to July 1, 2021 the requirement for certified claims administrator certifications that are expiring between March 20 and June 30, 2021.

The extension is being made due to a number of issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns over bringing groups of people into the building.

L&I also is extending the time for people outside the state of Washington who are making claim decisions to be a certified claims administrator in the state. The deadline would have been July 1, 2020 without the extension.

These extensions will align the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 296-15-350 requirement for out-of-state administrators to become certified to the new requirement in Substitute House Bill (SHB) 2409 passed in March 2020, that all certified administrators, in- and out-of-state, become certified by July 1, 2021.

L&I is looking into offering electronic testing in the future and continuing work on a new version of the certification test. The new test will assess claim administrators’ knowledge in the areas outlined in WAC 296-15-360. The statute requires those pursuing a new certified claims administrator certification to meet the requirements of the department-approved comprehensive goal-oriented curriculum. More details about the new test will be coming.

If you are a certified administrator and the postponement of the testing is causing a hardship, contact Kelli Zimmerman at 360-902-6904 to discuss individual options.