No. 21-404October Term 2021Decided Jun 21, 2022Updated May 24, 2026
United States v. Washington
The case concerned a Washington workers’ compensation law that gave special benefits only to certain workers at the federally owned Hanford nuclear cleanup site, most of whom worked for federal contractors.
Case status
Decided · June 21, 2022
Read the opinion (PDF)- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Jun 21, 2022
- What it's about
The case concerned a Washington workers’ compensation law that gave special benefits only to certain workers at the federally owned Hanford nuclear cleanup site, most of whom worked for federal contractors. The United States argued that the law unlawfully singled out the federal government for different treatment and was therefore barred by the Supremacy Clause’s rule of intergovernmental immunity.
Question presented
Whether a state workers' compensation law that applies exclusively to federal contract workers who perform services at a specified federal facility is barred by principles of intergovernmental immunity, or is instead authorized by 40 U.S.C. 3172(a), which permits the application of state workers' compensation laws to federal facilities "in the same way and to the same extent as if the premises were under the exclusive jurisdiction of the State."?
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit / Decision released Jun 21, 2022
- Area
Business and Regulation
Timing
Decided June 21, 2022
The Court released its decision on June 21, 2022 without hearing oral argument.
Documents
Activity
Docket activity3
Brief added: Questions Presented
May 24, 2026 | Court records
Opinion added: opinion
Jun 21, 2022 | Court records
Brief added: Petition
Sep 8, 2021 | Court records
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Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 25, 2026
- Method
- Methodology