Wash. Rev. Code » Title 51 · Chapter 51.48
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 51.48.017 (2026)

Self-insurer delaying or refusing to pay benefits

✓ current as of May 2026
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(1) Every time a self-insurer unreasonably delays or refuses to pay benefits as they become due, the self-insurer shall pay a penalty not to exceed the greater of $1,000 or 25 percent of: (a) The amount due or (b) each underpayment made to the claimant. For purposes of this section, "the amount due" means the total amount of payments due at the time of the calculation of the penalty.
(2) In making the determination of the penalty amount, the department shall weigh at least the following factors: The amount of any payment delayed, employer communication of the basis for or calculation of the payment, history or past practice of underpayments by the employer, department orders directing the payment, and any required adjustments to the amount of the payment.
(3) The director shall issue an order determining whether there was an unreasonable delay or refusal to pay benefits and the penalty amount owed within 30 days upon the request of the claimant. Such an order shall conform to the requirements of RCW 51.52.050.
(4) The penalty shall accrue for the benefit of the claimant and shall be paid to the claimant with the benefits which may be assessed under this title.
(5) The department may, for a violation of RCW 51.14.180, assess a penalty not to exceed three times the penalties provided in subsection (1) of this section, including adjustments pursuant to RCW 51.48.095.
(6) This section applies to all requests for penalties made after September 1, 2020.
[ 2023 c 293 s 2; 2020 c 277 s 2; 2010 c 8 s 14011; 1985 c 347 s 3; 1971 ex.s. c 289 s 66.]

Notes:

Application—Effective date—2023 c 293: See notes following RCW 51.14.180.
Effective date—2020 c 277 ss 1-7: See note following RCW 51.48.010.
Effective dates—Severability—1971 ex.s. c 289: See RCW 51.98.060 and 51.98.070.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12 cases, 1981–2020 · leading case: Wilmot v. Kaiser Aluminum & Chem. Corp., 821 P.2d 18 (Wash. 1991).
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Wilmot v. Kaiser Aluminum & Chem. Corp., 821 P.2d 18 (Wash. 1991). · cites it 3× “In Wolf , the question was whether RCW 51.48.017 provides the exclusive remedy for wrongful delay or termination of benefits by a claims administrator of a self-insured employer.”
Deeter v. Safeway Stores, Inc., 747 P.2d 1103 (Wash. Ct. App. 1987). · cites it 8× “RCW 51.48.017 provides for a penalty of $500 or 25 percent of the amount due, whichever is greater, to be assessed for unreasonable delays.”
Wolf v. Scott Wetzel Servs., Inc., 782 P.2d 203 (Wash. 1989). · cites it 4× “) RCW 51.48.017 (part). 21 The wrongs that can be redressed by this provision are precisely the kind of *674 wrongs alleged to exist in the case before us.”
Manor v. Nestle Food Co., 131 Wash. 2d 439 (Wash. 1997). · cites it 2× “RCW 51.48.017. Thé existence of such a penalty provision obviously gives employees leverage in bargaining for benefits with their self-insured employer.”
Johnson v. Tradewell Stores, Inc., 630 P.2d 441 (Wash. 1981). · cites it 2× “Employees of self-insured employers are also given the right to exact a 25 percent penalty against the employer if there is an "unreasonable delay or refusal" to pay benefits, RCW 51.48.017, which could be used as pressure in negotiations.”
Manor v. Nestle Food Co., 932 P.2d 628 (Wash. 1997). · cites it 2× “RCW 51.48.017. The existence of such a penalty provision obviously gives employees leverage in bargaining for benefits with their self-insured employer.”
Taylor v. Nalley's Fine Foods, 83 P.3d 1018 (Wash. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 2× “4, 1987), that unreasonable delay turns on whether the employer possessed a genuine doubt from a legal or medical standpoint as to who was liable for benefits.”
Masco Corp. v. Alfredo Suarez, 433 P.3d 824 (Wash. Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 4× “2 RCW 51.48.017. 2 51143-6-II acted upon the Motion for a Stay of Benefits.”
Cena v. State, 121 Wash. App. 352 (Wash. Ct. App. 2004). “Further, RCW 51.48.017 grants a remedy for wrongful delay or termination of workers’ compensation benefits.”
Cena v. State, 88 P.3d 432 (Wash. Ct. App. 2004). “Further, RCW 51.48.017 grants a remedy for wrongful delay or termination of workers' compensation benefits.”
Leonard G. Ellerbroek v. CHS Inc., 463 P.3d 750 (Wash. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 3× “RCW 51.48.017 provides that when “a self-insurer unreasonably delays or refuses to pay benefits as they become due there shall be paid” a penalty equal to $500 or 25 percent of the amount owed the employee.”
Taylor v. Nalley's Fine Foods, 83 P.3d 1018 (Wash. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 3× “80 under RCW 51.48.017. Nalley's protested the order, but the Department affirmed it on October 31.”
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