The Supreme Court should uphold the constitutionality of a 2018 Washington state law that makes it easier for workers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford site to qualify for compensation for illnesses believed to be linked to contamination at the former plutonium production complex, the state attorney general’s office argued Monday.
Washington Deputy Solicitor General Tera Heintz delivered the oral arguments before the high court on Monday, according to a press release. The state in March revised its worker compensation law, which the Joe Biden administration, like the Donald Trump administration, has challenged.
The changes passed by the Washington legislature last month, and signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee, took effect immediately, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson. The modifications, ensuring the protections apply to all individuals, including state employees, working on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, address key concerns voiced by the federal government, Ferguson said.
In January, the U.S. Supreme Court, an independent branch of the federal government, agreed to hear the Justice Department challenge to the Washington state law.
Under the Washington law, later upheld by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Hanford workers suffering from certain respiratory diseases and neurological problems could have an easier time qualifying for benefits.
