Department of Labor & Industries News

Washington Truck Drivers Have Highest Rates of Injury and Costs

Truck drivers have some of the highest rates of workplace injuries in Washington state, according to a new report from the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). Each year, one in every 13 truck drivers has a work-related injury serious …

Former Washington Adult Family Home Operator Guilty of Workers’ Comp Fraud

A Lynnwood woman must repay Washington state more than $200,000 for workers’ comp benefits she received fraudulently. Sharon Jean Weaver, 64, had claimed she was too disabled to work while operating an adult family home at the same time. She …

Washington Mother Daughter Duo Engaged in False Billing Scam

Two Mount Vernon-area women, who provided interpretation services for Spanish-speaking injured workers, must repay the state thousands of dollars from a false billing scam. Gloria Mendoza Garcia and her daughter, Gloria Del Rocio Gonzalez, were each sentenced to 30 days …

Mother Daughter Interpreters Overbilled on State Workers’ Comp Claims

Two Mount Vernon-area interpreters, who were the Department of Labor & Industries’ top billers for mileage, face felony theft charges alleging they overbilled the state by thousands of dollars. Gloria Mendoza Garcia, 46, and her daughter, Gloria Del Rocio Gonzalez, …

Washington Landscaper Caught Working While Claiming Workers’ Comp

A Bothell, Wash., landscaper who claimed he was suffering from an on-the-job injury has admitted to stealing state workers’ compensation benefits. Jose De Jesus Bernal-Ruiz pleaded guilty to second-degree theft this week in King County Superior Court, according to the …

Washington Landscaper Fails to Pay for Workers’ Comp Coverage

A Pierce County, Wash., landscaper has been charged with failing to pay workers’ compensation insurance after one of his employees was injured on the job. Kenneth Ivan Winters faces one count of doing business without workers’ comp insurance and seven …

Lack of Escalator Safety Maintenance Caused Washington Accident

The Washington Dept. of Labor & Industries completed a four-month investigation into the cause of a serious escalator malfunction at Bellevue Square on Dec. 6, 2012 that injured seven people. The agency found that a loose skirt panel next to …

Language Interpreter Gets Jail Time for Overcharging State

A Tacoma, Wash., woman received a 90-day jail term and must pay restitution after pleading guilty to first degree theft charges for fraudulently billing the Department of Labor & Industries for language interpretive services she never provided. Under terms of …

Washington Couple Will Pay Nearly $23,000 in Restitution and Fines

A Pierce County, Wash., couple will pay nearly $23,000 in restitution and fines after pleading guilty to charges that they continued to employ workers in their Spanaway towing business after the state had prohibited them from doing so. In 2011, …

Surprise Sweep of Washington Work Sites Uncovers Unregistered Contractors

In the fourth surprise sweep in Washington state since August, construction compliance inspectors with the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) visited 63 work sites in Chelan and Douglas counties this past weekend, citing 11 contractors for either lacking a …