Washington Construction Law Blog

We previewed the ergonomics case in this prior post.  Today the Supreme Court voted 8-1 in favor of allowing L&I to proceed with ergonomics-related investigations under the general duty clause of WISHA.  The employer, supported by the industry, had contended that Initiative 841 passed in 2001 essentially preempted this general authority.  The case is now remanded to the trial court to enforce the investigative subpoena which triggered this dispute in the first place.