This bill amends RCW 51.04.063 and creates a new section with legislative findings and intent. It removes the fifty-year age reference so an injured worker of any age may choose to keep receiving benefits, participate in vocational training if eligible, or initiate and enter a claim resolution settlement. The bill establishes a detailed procedural framework for claim resolution settlements, including who may negotiate for state fund and self-insured claims, requirements for approval, confidentiality protections, and limited circumstances for reopening claims. The bill is primarily a procedural change creating and regulating a new settlement process. Settlements may resolve all benefits except medical (with medical reopened only under RCW 51.32.160), must be approved by the board of industrial insurance appeals, and may be paid lump sum or as structured periodic payments with caps tied to the state average monthly wage (periodic payments between 25% and 150% of that average; an initial payment up to six times that average). Parties may initiate settlement only after at least 180 days from claim receipt and after any allowance order is final and binding unless the claim is closed or disputed. If a worker signs while unrepresented, the agreement must go to a board conference with an industrial appeals judge who must ensure the worker understands the terms and approve only if it is in the worker’s best interest; judges and the board have strict timelines for decisions. Final approved settlements are binding and not appealable; reopenings are limited to medical treatment only and wage-loss benefits are not payable after a final approved settlement. The bill also adds procedural protections and enforcement: a 30-day revocation window after board approval, continuation of entitled benefits during negotiation or revocation periods, a one-year deadline to petition the board for noncompliance with a possible penalty up to 25% of unpaid amounts, employer penalties or program removal for patterns of harassment or coercion, confidentiality of settlement materials except final orders, and inadmissibility of settlement negotiation statements in later litigation. The text names affected entities (board of industrial insurance appeals, industrial appeals judges, the department, self-insured employers, third-party administrators, the ombuds for self-insured injured workers, and workers) but does not define which agency is meant by “department,” does not include an effective date, and does not define the referenced “title” or provide other fiscal or enforcement details outside the sections shown.

If enacted, the bill makes settlement agreements available to injured workers of any age and creates a faster, more structured process for resolving most workers’ compensation benefits except medical care. Workers, employers, and the department (for state fund claims) or self-insured employers (for self-insured claims) can negotiate lump-sum or periodic settlements after 180 days from claim receipt; periodic payments are capped and the initial payment can be larger. For unrepresented workers a judge must hold a conference quickly and approve deals only if they are in the worker’s best interest, and any approved agreement can be revoked within 30 days; final approved settlements close most future wage-loss claims but can be reopened for medical treatment only. Primary impacts fall on injured workers, employers (state fund and self-insured), the department, the board of industrial insurance appeals, industrial appeals judges, the ombuds office, and third-party administrators. Employers and the department may see more predictable, one-time or structured payment obligations and new exposure to penalties, removal from retrospective rating or decertification for coercive settlement practices; self-insured employers and TPAs assume duties to negotiate and disburse per agreements. The board and judges will have new, time-sensitive review and approval responsibilities and must safeguard unrepresented workers, and settlement payments must be reported as claims costs which can affect employer experience ratings. The text leaves unclear which agency is named as “the department,” when the changes take effect, and other implementation details outside the quoted sections.