• Have an open and allowed Washington State L&I claim.
• Have an Activity Prescription Form (APF) on file with L&I that has been filled out by an approved L&I provider.
• Verify that you are not currently working by filling out a Work Status Form and submitting it to L&I.

Time-loss payments will not be as much as your regular paycheck. Time-loss pays 60-75% of the wage you were earning before your injury. If you are already receiving time-loss benefits, it is important to double-check the calculation as L&I often makes mistakes on wage orders, miscalculates rates, or fails to consider other income sources.

• Maximum time-loss rate: In Washington, the maximum L&I time-loss rate for 2025 is $8,913.80 per month. For details see L&I’s Maximum Time Loss Rate.

• Minimum time-loss rate: In 2025, the minimum time-loss rate in Washington state was 15% of the average monthly wage plus $10 for the spouse and $10 per dependent for up to five children. This equates to $1,114.22 per month for the worker in addition to the spouse and dependents. For details see L&I’s Minimum Time Loss Rate.

Once your time-loss rate is finalized, it is the wage rate you will be paid for the life of your claim. If you disagree with the amount of your time-loss rate, you have the right to protest the order in writing. An experienced local Washington workers’ compensation lawyer can help you with the process.

The amount of documentation required for your case depends on how severe your injury or occupational disease is. In most cases, you will need to provide details about your injury, your employment history, and the medical treatment you need or are currently receiving. You may wish to seek the assistance of an experienced Washington workers’ compensation and L&I attorney to help you collect all the required documentation.

In order to receive time-loss benefits from L&I there are two very important things that you must do right away, even before a claim is filed:

• Get medical help.
• Tell your employer.

If you are injured at work, you have three options to file a Washington State L&I claim:

• File by phone at 877.561.3453.
• File online through the L&I website’s File Fast tool.
• File at your doctor’s office.

You must further:

• Verify that you are not working by completing a Work Status Form for L&I.
• Visit an approved L&I doctor so they can complete an Independent Medical Exam to evaluate your injury and determine your eligibility for benefits.

L&I will consider your claim and make the determination based on your personal circumstances. Note that if you work with a self-insured employer, you must file your claim with them.

Activity Prescription Forms (APFs) are forms that doctors complete to outline your physical restrictions from an industrial injury. Limits will be injury-dependent and will determine your ability to work, functional capacities, and physical restrictions. The will also include a treatment plan.

Activity Prescription Forms are also used by other parties involved in the matter. Employers can use APFs to develop a modified work plan for you during your recovery. L&I Claim Managers can understand your medical treatment and progress allowing them to authorize time-loss benefits.

• You may not work while on time-loss unless you are approved for loss of earning power (LEP) benefits. Prohibited activities are those that are unrelated to your job that may indicate that you are physically capable of performing physical tasks.
• Do not post anything on your social media accounts that may contradict your Washington state L&I claim.
• Do not miss your medical appointments.
• Follow your doctor’s advice about activities, including sports and recreational activities.

Each time-loss compensation case is different depending on details like marital status and claimed dependents. Emery | Reddy L&I Attorneys will guide you through these complex regulations, which include regular doctor certification of your health condition so that you earn maximum compensation for lost wages due to your workplace injury.

• L&I offers the Kept on Salary (KOS) program to help injured workers obtain prompt, quality medical care and negate the need for time-loss benefits. This voluntary program makes it so that if an injured worker can’t work, their employer can choose to keep them on the payroll while they undergo treatment. This helps eliminate the injured worker’s strain of lost wages as well as the employer’s administrative burden of time-loss compensation in Washington state.In Washington state, here’s how it works:
  • The employee must have a work-related injury that keeps them from working and requires medical care. They must agree to participate in KOS.
  • The worker and employer sign an agreement and submit it to L&I for approval.
  • The employee gets treated by an L&I-approved medical provider who bills L&I for treatment expenses.
  • The employee continues to receive a paycheck and a portion of their benefits while they are being treated for their injury.
  • L&I monitors progress.

  Unfortunately, some employers have been known to abuse the KOS program by not paying wage replacement or pressuring injured workers to return to work before they are healed. This not only risks the employee’s health but may also violate their workers’ compensation rights. Some employers even use the KOS program to commit fraud to falsify records, making it appear that a worker is receiving their salary when they are not.

  If you believe your employer is abusing the KOS program or violating your rights, consult with an experienced local L&I lawyer so you can take legal action to protect your interests.

• Self-insured employers can be penalized for late or missing time-loss payments. The law assesses a penalty of the greater of $500 or 25% of the amount due, which is then paid to the injured worker. For claims managed by L&I there is no penalty.

• You, your employer, and your doctor all have the right to protest any decision made about your workers’ compensation claim. L&I must receive a written protest within 60 calendar days of the date the decision was received (15 days for decisions about vocational benefits), and the decision will become final.You may also appeal directly to the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals (BIIA). The decision becomes final if your written appeal is not received within the following legal time limits from the date you received the decision:
• 60 days to appeal a claim decision or a payment decision
• 20 days for providers to appeal a billing decision that reduces the amount paid or demands repayment

During this time, you may be eligible for back time-loss compensation; however, if your Washington state L&I claim is later denied after appeal with a final order, you must pay back all of the provision time-loss that you received.

• Your Washington state L&I claim closes when a physician certifies that further treatment will not improve your condition, meaning that you have met maximum medical improvement (MMI), and you have returned to work or that L&I has determined that you are fit to return to work.

• If you do not protest or appeal, after 60 days the closing order will become final.
• If you protest or appeal, then the closing order is held in abeyance.

If your workplace injury or occupational illness worsens, you and your doctor may apply to reopen your Washington state L&I claim. There must be medical evidence from an L&I-approved provider stating that after your claim closed, the condition caused by the original workplace injury worsened and needs more medical attention.

The amount of time that you have to reopen your L&I claim depends on the benefits you are seeking:

• For medical treatment only, you may apply at any time.
• For both time-loss benefits and medical treatment, apply within 7 years of the date your claim was first closed (10 years for eye injuries).
  • If your claim has been closed for more than 7 years, you may apply for medical benefits. However, only the L&I Director may grant additional disability benefits such as wage replacement or disability awards for these claims.