The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) is proposing to increase workers’ compensation taxes for 2004 by a whopping 20.6 percent for businesses.

If adopted, it will be the second year businesses will shoulder a double-digit worker’s comp tax increase. Last year businesses were saddled with a staggering 29 percent increase.

The proposed 20.6 percent increase comes during an economic recession that has resulted in Washington State losing 96,000 jobs and boasting one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates.

“When will L&I do the right thing and fix the obviously broken workers’ compensation systems instead of making businesses pay more and more to keep it afloat,” questioned Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) President Randy Gold, a frequent critic of L&I.

Last year’s 29 percent increase drew the ire of the business community with over three hundred business owners and workers from around the state attending a “No Rate Increase Without Reform” rally at L&I headquarters in Tumwater. BIAW also delivered nearly 1,000 postcards from businesses to Governor Locke urging comprehensive reform of the workers’ comp systems before increasing rates. These postcards warned Locke the “unfair, job-killing rate 29 percent increase” would put many out of business.