Gov. Jay Inslee today modified Proclamation 20-46 to allow employers additional flexibility to seek medical verification from employees and to shift employees to health coverage alternatives.
Leading the nation in protecting high-risk workers, Inslee initially permitted workers to self-attest to their medical status. With increased vaccination rates and increased provider capacity, this update allows employers to verify employees’ underlying health conditions.
Proclamation 20-46.3 will continue to maintain the core principles of the original proclamation: workers who remain high risk will still benefit from job protection, access to alternative work arrangements, and eligibility for unemployment insurance and other forms of paid leave. Employers must provide employees with 14 days’ notice of any planned changes, which will give employees time to work with their medical provider to obtain verification and to seek health coverage through their employer’s COBRA plan, the Health Benefit Exchange, or private insurers.
Read the full high risk worker proclamation here.
Additional guidance about the proclamation can be found here and will continue to be updated.