This bill amends RCW 51.08.142 (and 2023 c 370 s 1) and directs “the department” to adopt a rule under chapter 34.05 RCW stating that claims based on mental conditions or mental disabilities caused by stress are not included in the statutory definition of “occupational disease” in RCW 51.08.140, except for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for specified public safety and medical responder categories. The PTSD exception applies to certain firefighters (including specified public and large private fire department employees), specified law enforcement officer categories, public safety telecommunicators who receive and dispatch emergency calls, and county coroner and medical examiner personnel; the bill defines public safety telecommunicators and county coroner/medical examiner personnel for these purposes. For some workers hired after specified dates, the PTSD exception applies only if, as a condition of employment, the worker submitted to a psychological exam by a Washington-licensed psychiatrist or psychologist that ruled out preexisting PTSD; if the employer does not provide the exam, the exception applies. PTSD is excluded as an occupational disease when it is directly attributed to disciplinary action, evaluations, transfers, layoffs, demotions, terminations, or similar employer actions taken in good faith. The bill also creates a PTSD exception for direct care registered nurses (per RCW 51.32.395) but only where the PTSD develops or manifests after at least 90 consecutive days of fully compensated employment in Washington. This is a modification of existing law that combines a procedural change (requiring agency rulemaking) with substantive changes to workers’ compensation coverage and eligibility standards for stress-related mental conditions and PTSD; it does not state any penalty changes. The text repeatedly refers to “the department” without naming it, the application of the June 7, 2018 hire date is unclear from the provided material, and the provision relies on definitions located in other RCW sections for full scope.

If enacted, the law would make posttraumatic stress disorder from job duties an occupational disease for several public safety groups (specified firefighters, certain law enforcement, public safety dispatchers, county coroner/medical examiner staff) and for direct care registered nurses who develop PTSD after at least 90 days on the job, while keeping PTSD caused by routine disciplinary or personnel actions excluded. For hires after certain dates, that PTSD coverage only applies if the worker had a preemployment psychological exam by a Washington-licensed psychiatrist or psychologist that found no preexisting PTSD; if the employer does not provide that exam, the PTSD claim can still qualify. The people most affected are the listed workers, their employers, and the licensed psychiatrists and psychologists. Workers in those jobs will likely have greater access to workers’ compensation for PTSD from work exposures, employers will face higher potential claims unless they provide and rely on prehire mental health exams, and mental health professionals may see more demand for those exams. It is unclear from the provided text which specific department must adopt the rule and exactly which hire dates apply to each worker category, and the full list of covered positions depends on definitions in other statutes.