The Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state’s “traveling employee” doctrine extends to occupational diseases, potentially broadening workers compensation coverage for employees who become ill while traveling for work.
As documented in Azorit-Wortham v. Department of Labor & Industries of Washington and Alaska Airlines, flight attendant Lisa Azorit-Wortham alleged she contracted COVID-19 in March 2020 while working for Alaska Airlines. After a denial of her claim, a jury sided with Ms. Azorit-Wortham, ruling that the state’s legal parameters on traveling employees applies to infectious diseases. The Court of Appeals reversed, excluding occupational diseases from the traveling employee doctrine.
At issue was whether workers who contract communicable diseases while traveling for work can be covered under the doctrine, which typically compensates for injuries or illnesses “arising naturally and proximately out of employment.” Alaska Airlines argued that extending the traveling employee doctrine to diseases would make coverage “automatic” and remove the requirement that workers prove distinctive employment-related exposure.
The state’s highest court emphasized that the doctrine “does not alter the definition” of occupational disease but clarifies the period of coverage. “If a worker contracts a disease that meets the statutory definition while traveling for work, the Act provides coverage,” the court wrote.
The court rejected the appellate court’s assessment, which had found that travel-related activities — such as staying in hotels or eating in restaurants — are “conditions of everyday life” and therefore excluded from occupational disease coverage.
While the ruling does not automatically approve Ms. Azorit-Wortham’s COVID-19 claim, it clarifies that traveling employees fall under the legal scope for both injuries and diseases contracted during work-related travel. The Court of Appeals must now determine whether sufficient evidence supports the jury’s finding that the flight attendant’s infection “arose naturally and proximately” from her employment.