WA SB5463

Expands the duty of good faith and fair dealing to all self-insured employers and their third-party administrators, removing the previous limitation to only municipal employers and private sector firefighter employers

Requires the Department of Labor & Industries to impose corrective action, including probationary status, on self-insurers found to have violated good faith duties two or more times within a three-year period

Mandates automatic withdrawal of self-insurer certification if a violation occurs during a corrective action period, or if two or more violations occur within two years following a prior corrective action completed within the previous 10 years

Penalties for violations range from one to 52 times the average weekly wage, paid to the affected worker, with the department required to issue violation determinations within 30 calendar days

Effective January 1, 2026, and applies to all workers' compensation claims regardless of injury date