A federal court on Thursday upheld a Washington state law making it easier for employees of contractors at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits.
State Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced the ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. The U.S. Justice Department challenged the law in March on behalf of the Department of Energy.
“It was disappointing to see the federal government once again fighting against doing the right thing for the men and women of Hanford,” Ferguson said in a statement. “The court appropriately rejected the Trump Administration’s attempt to undermine our state protections for Hanford workers. Hanford workers do incredibly important work cleaning up the federal government’s nuclear program.”
Under the state law, which took effect a year ago, employees of a dozen Hanford contractors and subcontractors no longer must prove certain illnesses or injuries were caused by exposure to conditions at the former plutonium production complex. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory and US Ecology have workers at the Hanford Site but are not federal contractors, the ruling notes.
The Washington Department of Labor and Industries, which rules on claims, instead must presume that neurological illnesses, respiratory problems, and many types of cancer can result from working for even a brief time at Hanford.
The Energy Department is responsible for workers’ compensation costs for contractors and subcontractors at the Hanford Site under a memorandum with the state. This MOU makes the Energy Department self-insured at Hanford under the state workers’ compensation system.
In addition to saying the Washington state law would raise costs, the federal government argued the law violated the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The clause typically prohibits states from directly regulating the federal government.
But attorneys for Washington successfully argued the state has authority over workers’ compensation laws when it comes to the employees on federal property at Hanford. District Judge Stanley Bastian said Washington is on solid ground so long as it does not impose more stringent standards on federal facilities than non-federal ones.
“Because Congress has authorized … several states to regulate workers’ compensation on federal land to the same extent that they can regulate non-federal land,” the judge granted summary judgment to the state’s petition to uphold the law. The judge denied summary judgment to the federal government.
Administrator Sought for Compensation Program
Meanwhile, the Department of Energy on June 7 issued a request for quote for a small business to administer the workers’ compensation program for contractor employees at the Hanford Site.
The agency plans to award a firm-fixed-price contract for up to five years for workers’ compensation support. Washington-based Penser North America holds the current contract, which is set to expire Sept. 30.
The Energy Department solicitation does not list an estimated value for the upcoming deal. The incumbent contract, signed in September 2014, is worth $4.3 million.
The Hanford workers’ compensation program is self-insured and managed on behalf of the Richland Operations Office through a contract with a third-party administrator that processes all claims. The administrator will work closely with DOE and the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries. The state entity approves or denies compensation claims.
The contract has a 60-day transition period. Key personnel needed for the contract will include the principal manager and a state-certified claims-program manager.
The deadline for responses is 3 p.m. E.T. on July 8. The primary contact for the procurement is Contract Specialist Robin Whitney, at [email protected].
