Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and HIPAA Privacy Rule Exceptions

1. Terms of Service ("ToS")

By accessing https://rtw.waworksafe.org (Website), you are agreeing to be bound by these terms of service, all applicable laws and regulations, and agree that you are responsible for compliance with any applicable local laws. If you do not agree with any of these terms, you are prohibited from using or accessing this Website developed by the Washington Retail Association (WR). The materials contained in this website are protected by applicable copyright and trademark law.

2. Use License

1. Permission is granted to temporarily download one copy of the materials (information or code) on the Website for personal, non-commercial transitory viewing only. This is the grant of a license, not a transfer of title, and under this license, you may not:

   1.1. modify or copy the materials;

   1.2. use the materials for any commercial purpose, or for any public display (commercial or non-commercial);

   1.3. attempt to decompile or reverse engineer any software contained on the Website;

   1.4. remove any copyright or other proprietary notations from the materials; or

   1.5. transfer the materials to another person or “mirror” the materials on any other server.

2. This license shall automatically terminate if you violate any of these restrictions and may be terminated by WR at any time. Upon terminating your viewing of these materials or upon the termination of this license, you must destroy any downloaded materials in your possession whether in electronic or printed format.

3. Disclaimer

1. The materials on the Website are provided on an ‘as is’ basis. WR makes no warranties, expressed or implied, and hereby disclaims and negates all other warranties including, without limitation, implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of intellectual property or other violation of rights.
2. Further, Washington Retail Association does not warrant or make any representations concerning the accuracy, likely results, or reliability of the use of the materials on its website or otherwise relating to such materials or on any sites linked to this site. Particularly the use of "Compliant" in our tagline.
3. The term Compliant in our tag line is intended to mean that this product will help you with compliance. Every business is required to have an Accident Prevention Program and it is the owners’ responsibility to properly develop one based on their specific operation.

4. Limitations

In no event shall WR or its suppliers be liable for any damages (including, without limitation, damages for loss of data or profit, or due to business interruption) arising out of the use or inability to use the materials on this Website, even if WR or its authorized representative has been notified orally or in writing of the possibility of such damage. Because some jurisdictions do not allow limitations on implied warranties, or limitations of liability for consequential or incidental damages, these limitations may not apply to you.

5. Accuracy of materials

The materials appearing on the Website could include technical, typographical, or photographic errors. While WR does not warrant that any of the materials on this Website are accurate, complete or current, we do make every effort to provide reliable information. WR may make changes to the materials contained on its website at any time without notice. However, WR does not make any commitment to update the materials.

6. Links

WR has not reviewed all of the sites linked to this Website and is not responsible for the contents of any such linked sites. The inclusion of links does not imply WR’s endorsement for these linked sites. Use of any such linked website is at the user’s own risk.

7. Modifications

WR may revise these terms of service for this Website at any time without notice. By using this Website, you are agreeing to be bound by the then current version of these terms of service.

8. Governing Law

These terms and conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Washington State and you irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Washington State or our location.

Funding and support for this project have been provided by the State of Washington, Department of Labor & Industries, Safety & Health Investment Projects.

Privacy Policy ("PP")

Your privacy is important to us.

It is WR’s policy to respect your privacy regarding any information we may collect while operating this Website. Accordingly, we have developed this privacy policy in order for you to understand how we collect, use, communicate, disclose and otherwise make use of personal information. We have outlined our privacy policy below.

• We will collect personal information by lawful and fair means and, where appropriate, with the knowledge or consent of the individual concerned.
• Before or at the time of collecting personal information, we will identify the purposes for which information is being collected.
• We will collect and use personal information solely for fulfilling those purposes specified by us and for other ancillary purposes, unless we obtain the consent of the individual concerned or as required by law.
• Personal data should be relevant to the purposes for which it is to be used, and, to the extent necessary for those purposes, should be accurate, complete, and up to date.
• We will protect personal information by using reasonable security safeguards against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification.
• We will make readily available to customers information about our policies and practices relating to the management of personal information.
• We will only retain personal information for as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes.

We are committed to conducting our business in accordance with these principles in order to ensure that the confidentiality of personal information is protected and maintained. Washington Retail Association may change this privacy policy from time to time at Washington Retail Association’s sole discretion.

ToS and PP were last updated on April 7, 2022.

HIPAA Privacy Rule Exceptions and L&I

Authorizations are not needed when patients are covered by workers' compensation

HIPAA exempts workers’ compensation programs from the Act’s Privacy Rule authorization requirement (45 CFR § 164.512(l)).

This means you can disclose a patient’s personal health information to L&I or a self-insurer without obtaining authorizations from your patient as is generally required by HIPAA.

HIPAA also allows you to disclose a patient’s personal health information to an employer regarding work-related illnesses or injuries without the patient’s authorization (45 CFR § 164512(b)(v)(B)).

Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) allows exceptions to the HIPAA Privacy Rule when providers are treating patients covered by the:

• L&I's workers compensation program.
• Crime Victims’ Compensation (CVC) program.
• As well as when providers are conducting examinations required by the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act (WISHA).

The information on this webpage explains how these exceptions to the HIPAA Privacy Rule apply when providers are taking care of patients through these programs.
Links to further information about these rules is provided at the end of this page.

HIPAA's "minimum necessary" standard does not apply to workers' compensation or crime victims' compensation claims

HIPAA's minimum necessary standard does not apply to any disclosure you are required to make by state law (45 CFR § 164.502(b)(2)(v)).
This means when L&I or a self-insurer requests the personal health information of a patient being treated under a workers' compensation or crime victims' compensation claim, you must send everything requested.

This includes requests or personal health information that may appear unrelated to your patient's claim. This is because L&I or self-insurer may cover treatment for a condition that is unrelated to an injury when the condition is regarding your patient's recovery.

L&I or the self-insurer may also request what appears to be unrelated medical information in order to review your patient’s medical history when the patient contends a new condition is related to or has been aggravated by a work-related injury.

Releasing personal health information to vocational counselors, nurses and others assisting L&I or self-insurer

When a worker signs a "Report of Industrial Injury or Occupational Disease" form* or files an application to reopen a claim with L&I, he or she authorizes treating providers to release the worker's personal health information (PHI) as needed for them to receive benefits.

These benefits may include vocational rehabilitation, nurse case management, utilization review, independent medical exams, foreign language translation, and pre-authorized services such as pain clinics.

Providers must release the worker's personal health information to professionals who have an active L&I provider number and perform services for a worker with an industrial insurance claim. No additional worker authorization is required.

*For self-insurers, the "Physician's Initial Report" form or the "Self-insurer Accident Report" (SIF-2) form.

Your privacy notice should address disclosure to L&I

If you are subject to HIPAA, HIPAA requires that you develop a privacy notice for your patients (CFR 45 § 164.520). The notice must advise your patients of your legal duties under HIPAA, as well as how you may use and disclose their personal health information. We recommend that you include in your privacy notice that:

• You are required by Washington State law to disclose personal health information to L&I or a self-insured employer when they are treated under a workers' compensation claim.
• You can disclose personal health information to an employer without authorization from your patient if that information is about a workplace injury or illness, light-duty work, workplace medical surveillance, or a return-to-work examination.
• You are required by Washington State law to disclose personal health information to L&I if they are treated under a crime victims' compensation claim.
• Your patients can’t compel you to restrict disclosures of their personal health information to L&I or self-insurer because it is required by law (45 CFR § 164.512,164.522(a)(1)(v)).

Read L&I's privacy notice (F101-055-000).