The U.S. Justice Department has asked for a stay in its lawsuit against the state of Washington over a new law that eases state workers’ compensation requirements for claims from employees of the Energy Department’s Hanford Site.
The partial shutdown of the U.S. government has prohibited federal attorneys from working, even on a voluntary basis, except in limited emergency situations, according to the request filed in U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington late last week. “Although we greatly regret any disruption caused to the court and the other litigants, the government [hereby] moves for a stay of this case until Department of Justice attorneys are permitted to resume their usual civil litigation functions,” the federal agency said in its motion to the court.
The Justice Department is among a number of federal agencies that have not received full funding for the current 2019 fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. President Donald Trump has refused to sign even short-term appropriations measures covering those departments that do not include $5.7 billion for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Washington state has no objection to putting the case on hold, the Justice Department said in its filing. Judge Stanley Bastian is not scheduled to consider the motion until Feb. 11, according to the federal court.
Washington asked on Jan. 9 that the lawsuit filed Dec. 10 be dismissed and that the state be granted attorney fees and other legal costs. No hearing on the state’s request has been scheduled.
In March, Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation requiring the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries to presume that a wide range of health conditions suffered by Hanford personnel were caused by their work at the former plutonium production complex now undergoing environmental cleanup. Covered health conditions include neurological and respiratory illnesses and many cancers.
The law means these workers no longer have to demonstrate a connection between their health problems and time at Hanford, even just a single eight-hour work day. There is no time limit on when workers or former workers can apply under the eased compensation rules for most covered conditions.
The Justice Department says the state law violates the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. It attempts to directly regulate the federal government and holds it to a stricter standard than other entities in the state, according to the lawsuit. “It singles out DOE, its contractors, and the federally owned and operated portions of Hanford for a substantially more burdensome and costly workers’ compensation scheme,” the lawsuit said. The Energy Department is self-insured and pays the cost of approved claims.
The lawsuit asks that the court declare the state law invalid, enjoin its enforcement, and award the federal government costs of the proceeding.
