News and Media Center: Contacts & Topics

Contacts & Topics

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Media Contacts
If you have questions about …	Contact
Main number: 360-902-5400 Fax: 360-902-5420 Admin. Asst: 360-902-4226
General agency information, legislative issues.	Steve Pierce, Public Affairs Mgr. 360-902-5412 piet235@LNI.wa.gov
Workplace safety and health: Enforcement of safety rules, workplace injuries and fatalities.	Elaine Fischer 360-902-5413 nele235@LNI.wa.gov
Workplace safety and health: work site consultations, Governor's Safety and Health Conference, workshops, outreach.	Xenefon N. Moniodis 360-902-6458 monx235@LNI.wa.gov
Workers' compensation insurance: Filing workplace injury claims, premiums and rate setting, Crime Victims Compensation Program.	Tiffany Scheer 360-902-6043 scti235@Lni.wa.gov
Fraud prevention, investigations.	Barbara Davis 360-902-4216 daba235@LNI.wa.gov
Construction trades, elevators, electrical inspections and licensing, plumbers, boilers, factory-assembled structures, apprenticeship, child/teen labor, wage claims, workplace standards and minimum wage.	Elaine Fischer 360-902-5413 nele235@LNI.wa.gov
Small business outreach.	Ron Langley 360-902-5413 SmallBusiness@LNI.wa.gov
Hispanic outreach, Spanish translations.	Veronica Bronkema 360-902-5288 brev235@LNI.wa.gov

Or write to:

Washington State
Department of Labor and Industries
Public Affairs Office
PO Box 44050
Olympia, WA
98504-4050

Alphabetical Topics

Accidents/Workplace inspections.
L&I’s DOSH (Division of Occupational Safety and Health) program develops and enforces rules that protect workers from hazardous job conditions. Our inspectors visit about 7,000 workplaces each year and cite businesses that violate healthand safety rules. Each year, we also conduct about 2,500 free, on-site safety and health consultations for employers who request our help complying with these rules to make their unique workplaces safe.
- Contact: Elaine Fischer, 360-902-5413, or Xenefon Moniodis, 360-902-6458
- Helpful links: Safety & Health Program (WISHA): (www.LNI.wa.gov/safety/basics/About/)
- Look up a company's history of compliance with safety and health rules: (www.osha.gov/oshstats/)
- Statistics: (www.LNI.wa.gov/ClaimsIns/Insurance/DataStatistics)
- Research: (www.LNI.wa.gov/Safety/Research/About)
- Writing about workplace accidents: (www.LNI.wa.gov/news/WritingAbout.asp#WritingReAccidents)
- See also Workplace safety education on this page.

Agricultural workers.
L&I’s regulations affect thousands of seasonal workers in agriculture, many of them Spanish-speaking. L&I has an active outreach and education program to those in this industry. (See Spanish outreach program below.)
- Contact: Veronica Bronkema, 360-902-5288, or Delfina Gayle, 360-902-5407
- Helpful links: Agriculture main page: (www.LNI.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/Agriculture/)
- "Your Rights as an Agricultural Worker" (www.LNI.wa.gov/IPUB/700-083-000.htm)

Apprenticeship.
L&I registers hundreds of apprenticeship programs that help workers earn a living while learning a skill.
- Contact: Elaine Fisher, 360-902-5413
- Helpful links: Apprenticeship main page (www.LNI.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/Apprenticeship/)

Business rates/risk classes.
Every business with employees must provide workers’ compensation coverage. L&I administers the State Fund that covers 70 percent of the state’s workers. L&I’s Self-Insurance program also monitors coverage offered by large companies that can elect to self-insure their employees and manage their own claims. For the State Fund, L&I sets rates at the minimum level needed to administer the program and provide benefits to workers who become ill or are injured on the job. Rates are based on the industry risk and the employer’s safety record.
- Contact: R.T. Nelson, 360-902-6043, or Barbara Davis, 360-902-4216
- Helpful links: Rates and risk classes (www.LNI.wa.gov/ClaimsIns/Insurance/RatesRisk/)
- "Employer's Guide" (publication): (www.LNI.wa.gov/IPUB/101-002-000.pdf) (PDF — 1:20 dialup)

Child labor/teen safety.
L&I enforces laws that prevent children and teens from working long hours or at hazardous jobs.
- Contact: Elaine Fischer, 360-902-5413
- Helpful links: Teen worker page (www.LNI.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/TeenWorkers/)
- "Teen Workers Have Two Jobs" (publication): (www.LNI.wa.gov/IPUB/700-022-000.pdf) (PDF — 1:42 dialup)

Crime victims compensation.
L&I administers this program, which provides financial and/or medical assistance to the victims of crime who have no other resources to fall back on. Benefits may include replacement of lost wages, medical coverage, counseling, burial expenses and pensions. The program is funded by a federal grant, as well as by fines, fees and assessments collected by the criminal justice system.
- Contact: R.T. Nelson, 360-902-6043
- Helpful links: Crime Vicitms Compensation Program (www.LNI.wa.gov/ClaimsIns/CrimeVictims/)

Data and statistics about worker injuries and fatalities.
L&I keeps statistical data on Washington State workers' compensation injuries, illnesses and fatalities for research and reporting and for workplace safety and risk management purposes. You can view tables and charts showing the numbers of injuries, costs, ratings and scores sorted by a number of subject areas like worker injuries, service provider ratings, employer risk factor ratings and so on. Also provides data from the Washington State branch of the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Contact: Elaine Fischer, 360-902-5413, or R.T. Nelson, 360-902-6043
- Helpful links: Workers' Comp Injury Data & Statistics (www.lni.wa.gov/ClaimsIns/Insurance/DataStatistics/)

Electrical inspections/licensing.
This program licenses electrical contractors and certifies electrical administrators, journeymen and trainees. The staff inspects more than 250,000 electrical installations at job sites each year.
- Contact: Elaine Fischer, 360-902-5413
- Helpful links:(www.LNI.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/Electrical/)
- Get or renew an electrical license: (www.LNI.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/LicensingReq/Electricians/)

Elevator inspections.
L&I’s elevator inspectors are responsible for checking the safety of more than 13,000 passenger and freight elevators, special-purpose elevators, dumbwaiters, escalators, boat-launch lifts, residential elevators and other conveyances.
- Contact: Elaine Fischer, 360-902-5413
- Helpful links:(www.LNI.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/Elevators/)

Ergonomics.
L&I's focus is to educate workers and employers on the importance of preventing musculoskeletal injuries and proper techniques they can use.
- Contact: Xenefon Moniodis, 360-902-6458
- Helpful links:(www.LNI.wa.gov/Safety/Topics/Ergonomics/About/)

Factory-built structures.
L&I inspects many different types of pre-built housing, including factory-built homes and commercial buildings, manufactured mobile homes, park trailers and temporary worker housing, to help ensure they are safely installed and/or remodeled.
- Contact: Elaine Fischer, 360-902-5413
- Helpful links:(www.LNI.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/FAS/)

Fraud: Workers, employers and health care providers.
L&I aggressively investigates fraud committed by employers who aren’t registered or who falsify payroll records to avoid paying premiums. It also investigates workers who collect workers’ compensation benefits dishonestly and providers who overcharge L&I for health-care services to injured workers.
- Contact: Barbara Davis, 360-902-4216
- Helpful links:
- Injured worker fraud: (www.LNI.wa.gov/ClaimsInsurance/WorkersCompFraud/Injured/)
- Employer fraud: (www.LNI.wa.gov/ClaimsInsurance/WorkersCompFraud/Employer/)
- Contractor fraud: (www.lni.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/Contractors/ContractorFraud/)
- Provider fraud (providers of health care and other services): (www.LNI.wa.gov/ClaimsInsurance/WorkersCompFraud/Provider/)
- "Washington State's Annual Fraud Report — 2003" (publication):
  (www.LNI.wa.gov/ClaimsInsurance/WorkersCompFraud/About/AnnReport/)

Injured worker claims.
L&I handles more than 150,000 workplace-injury and occupational-illness claims every year. We work with employees, medical providers and businesses to make sure injured workers return to health and paid employment as quickly as possible. Their benefits may include medical care, wage replacement, retraining and disability/ pension awards.
- Contact: R.T. Nelson, 360-902- 6043
- Helpful links:
- Introduction: How claims are filed: (www.LNI.wa.gov/ClaimsInsurance/ClaimsAppeals/FileClaim/)
- Guide to workers’ compensation benefits: (www.LNI.wa.gov/ClaimsInsurance/ClaimsAppeals/Benefits/)
- All claims and insurance topics: (www.LNI.wa.gov/ClaimsInsurance/)

Minimum wage
L&I calculates the state’s minimum wage in September of each year as a result of an initiative approved by voters in 1998. The law ties the minimum wage to changes in the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
- Contact: Elaine Fischer, 360-902-5413
- Helpful links:(www.LNI.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/FAS/)
- Minimum wage: (www.LNI.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/Wages/Minimum/About/)
- Washington State Employment Security Department: (http://fortress.wa.gov/esd/portal/)

Research for prevention of workplace injuries and occupational diseases
The occupational and public health researchers, toxologists and ergonomists in L&I’s “SHARP” program conduct research aimed at finding new ways to improve workplace safety and health conditions.
- Contact: Barbara Davis, 360-902- 4216
- Helpful links:(Safety and health research: (www.SHARP.LNI.wa.gov/)

Small Business Liaison
Contact Ron Langley if you're a small business owner or manager and you:
- Need to find the right person at L&I to help you.
- Want some information quickly.
- Have a problem you can't solve through your regular L&I contacts.

Spanish-language outreach
L&I has an active outreach program to ensure our Spanish-speaking customers have equal access to information about their rights, benefits and legal obligations. We have more than 100 employees throughout Washington who serve customers in Spanish. Our Spanish Language Editorial Board meets regularly and, so far, has translated more than 200 important letters, forms, legal documents and informational publications into Spanish. Information in Spanish is also distributed by radio and print media and through many local organizations.
- Contact: Veronica Bronkema, 360-902-5288
- Helpful links:(Spanish web site: (www.LNI.wa.gov/Spanish)

Registration, licensing and certification of trade contractors
L&I registers building contractors, licenses electricians and certifies plumbers.
- Contact: Elaine Fischer, 360-902-5413
- Helpful links:
- Registration and licensing trades: (www.LNI.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/)
- Hiring a contractor—What you should know: (www.LNI.wa.gov/IPUB/625-084-000.htm)

Workers' compensation system
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries runs a workers' compensation system that insures about 2.3 million workers employed by approximately 173,000 employers -- about 70 percent of the state's workforce.

The other 30 percent work for companies and government agencies that self-insure. L&I monitors self-insured employers to ensure their workers receive the same level of benefits.

Workers' compensation protects workers from the potentially devastating effects of a workplace injury or illness, and employers from tort claims that might otherwise result from such an injury.

Washington's workers' compensation system is compulsory. It's the eighth-largest in the nation, with assets of more than $11 billion. L&I collects premiums and pays out benefits of about $1.4 billion annually.

Washington is the only state where workers pay a significant portion of premiums. This year, their share averages 25 percent.

Workplace safety education
L&I’s WISHA (Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act) program offers training and outreach services to help employers meet workplace safety and health requirements. Use the helpful links below to learn about these services.
- Contact: Xenefon Moniodis, 360-902-6458
- Helpful links:
- Online courses: (www.LNI.wa.gov/Safety/TrainTools/Online/)
- Safety trainer resources: (www.LNI.wa.gov/Safety/TrainTools/Trainer/)
- Workshops: (www.LNI.wa.gov/Safety/TrainTools/Workshops/)
- Safety training videos: (www.LNI.wa.gov/Safety/TrainTools/Videos/)
- Publications: (www.LNI.wa.gov/FormPublications/)
- Governor’s Industrial Safety and Health Conference: (www.LNI.wa.gov/Safety/TrainTools/GovConf/)

Workplace/wage complaints
Workers have a right to minimum wage, overtime, rest and meal breaks, prevailing wage (on public works projects) and other basic protections. They may report problems to L&I. L&I also enforces laws ensuring that children and teens are not working long hours or hazardous jobs.
- Contact: Elaine Fischer, 360-902-5413
- Helpful links:
- Employing teenagers: (www.LNI.wa.gov/ipub/700-022-000.htm)
- Questions about workplace fairness: (www.LNI.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/)
- Teen job safety: (www.LNI.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/TeenWorkers/)
- Wage claim form: (www.LNI/wa.gov/forms/pdf/700027af.pdf)
- Information about Washington’s Whistleblower Act: (www.sao.wa.gov/)