COMMUNICATION OF DEPARTMENT ORDER
Address shown by Department records
A Department order must be sent to the worker's last known address as shown by the records of the Department. When the worker has notified the Department of a change of address to that of his attorney, an order sent to the claimant at his home address rather than in care of his attorney has not been "communicated" within the meaning of RCW 51.52.050. ....David Herring, 57,831 (1981)
Failure to provide order to assignee of self-insured employer
Where the assignee of a self-insured employer did not inform the Department of its interest in the distribution of third party recovery until well after sixty days following the date of communication of the order to the employer, a later appeal filed by the assignee is not timely, and the Department's distribution order is binding upon the employer and its assignee. Where a law firm failed to specifically request a change of address to its care and has only informally communicated with the Department, the Department is not required by RCW 51.04.082 or RCW 51.52.050 to serve a copy of its order on the firm. ....Calvin Keller, Dec'd., 89 4546 (1991)[Editor's Note: The Board's decision was appealed to superior court under Spokane County Cause No. 91-2-01677-6.]
Failure to provide order to attorney or representative
The Department is required to send copies of orders to a party's representative. RCW 51.04.080 does not allow the Department to send a written notice, order, or warrant only to the worker and not to the worker's representative. ....Pamela Miller, 05 12252 (2006)
Where an attorney or other representative has appeared before the Department on behalf of a firm and expressed desire to receive further communication from the Department regarding the assessment of industrial insurance taxes, the Department is obligated to direct all future correspondence to the firm's attorney or representative. ....Bell & Bell Builders (II), 90 5119 (1992)
Failure to provide order to custodial parent
*A custodial parent of a minor is an affected party with respect to an order issued in the minor's claim, and such an order will not become final until communicated to the parent. ....Andrew Gravlee, 06 16783 (2007)
Failure to provide order to retrospective rating group
*A retrospective rating group is a separate entity from an employer within the group, has an independent right to challenge adjudicative orders issued against an employer in the group, and the sixty-day limit for filing an appeal or protest does not begin to run until the order is communicated to the retrospective rating group. ....David Tapia-Fuentes, 06 15128 (2007) [Editor's Note: The Board's decision was appealed to superior court under King County Cause No.07-2-23740-2SEA]
Presumptions of mailing and receipt
Proof that a Department order was mailed on a particular date, properly addressed and with sufficient postage, creates a presumption that the order was received in the due course of the mails. However, persuasive testimony that the order was not received will overcome the presumption. ....Edward Morgan, 09,667 (1959)
Evidence that a Department order was mailed to the worker at his last known address gives rise to a presumption that the order was received by the worker in the due course of the mails. ....John Karns, 05,181 (1956)
Where uncontradicted testimony indicates that the worker was not at the address to which the Department addressed its order, nothing in the record established communication of the Department order. ....Daniel Bazan, 92 5953 (1994)
Receipt of copy of Department order
The brief display of a Department order to the employer at a deposition does not satisfy the statutory requirement that a copy of the order be served on the employer by the Department. Being shown the order does not constitute "communication" or receipt of the order. ....Larry Lunyou, 87 0638 (1988)
Reference to an order in subsequent correspondence sent by the Department to the worker does not satisfy the requirement that a copy of the order must have been "communicated" to the worker. ....Elmer Doney, 86 2762 (1987)
Strict compliance with service provisions (RCW 51.52.050)
Where the Department did not mail the claimant a copy of the closure order until after the final resolution of the employer's appeal from that order, the worker could appeal the order within 60 days of service even though the worker appeared in the employer's appeal and had actual knowledge of the contents of the order. [Department order affirmed in both appeals.] ....Mollie McMillon, 22,173 (1966)