Washington Workers’ Comp Law Faces Mootness Debate at High Court

The U.S. Supreme Court should overturn a ruling validating a Washington state workers’ compensation law designed for federal contractors working at the state’s Hanford nuclear waste site, a lawyer for the Justice Department told the high court.

The law, which passed in 2018, presumes certain worker health conditions—such as cancer and respiratory diseases—linked to cleanup work at the decommissioned federal nuclear production complex are occupational diseases that can trigger workers’ compensation benefits.

Washington passed a new workers’ compensation law (S.B. 5890) after the high court agreed to hear the case, but a ruling upholding the prior measures creates uncertainty ...