A law passed last year that allows injured workers to audio and video record independent medical exams is unconstitutional because a section of the law prohibits workers from posting the IME recordings to social media, the Court of Appeals of Washington ruled Monday.
The appeals court sided with 10 injured workers who sued the state of Washington, the director of the Department of Labor and Industries and the state attorney general over the 2023 statute.
The plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of the law, contending that it abridged free speech; a trial judge subsequently agreed and granted summary judgment to the workers.
The state, on appeal, argued the social media restriction is a “permissible time, place, or manner restriction,” but the appeals court said the law is unconstitutional because “the statute forecloses workers’ access to social media” and is “an unconstitutional prior restraint.”
Independent medical exams are used by the state to determine whether employees injured on the job are entitled to workers compensation benefits.
Workers who violated the 2023 ban on posting IMEs to social media faced up to a $1,000 fine.
Ruling on the case, which was a matter of first impression, the appellate court wrote that “it is clear that the act of posting a recorded IME to social media is expressive conduct warranting free speech protections.”
