Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire has proposed changes to the state's worker compensation and unemployment laws in an effort to help businesses and workers during the financial downturn. The proposal would lower unemployment taxes for most Washington businesses. She also proposed temporarily changing the state training benefit laws to qualify for $98 million in federal funds. The changes to the workers' compensation system are the most significant. The system covers 2.3 million workers, the largest in the country. Changes would include having health-care providers certified by the state and follow 'best practice' standards. The changes would also provide a subsidy to employers that out injured employees back on light duty. While business and labor leaders said the proposals sounded good, they wanted to see a detailed proposal before wholeheartedly supporting the changes.
See "Gregoire proposes changes to jobless-insurance rates benefits program", Sanjay Bhatt, The Seattle Times, January 4, 2011