Wage Violations

/ Scott

Below are summaries and status reports (as of Feb. 21, 2017) of some wage and hour bills about which we have concerns.

HB 1300 – Employee Misclassification: This labor-backed bill would make it harder to be classified as an independent contractor. The bill passed the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee and is scheduled for executive action in the Appropriations Committee. WSDF is opposed to this bill.

HB 1301 – Employee Antiretaliation: This perennial favorite of worker advocates continues to have the same problems as previous versions – namely that employers are presumed guilty of employee retaliation in certain circumstances until the employers prove their innocence. The bill passed the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee and has received a hearing in the Appropriations Committee. At this point, it has not been scheduled for executive action. WSDF is opposed to this bill.

HB 1302 – Damages for Wage Violations: This bill would increase the penalty for not paying employees correctly. The bill is currently in House Rules awaiting possible floor action. WSDF opposes this bill, as current law is sufficient.

HB 1486 – Wage Recovery Act: This bill creates a statutory wage lien for claims on unpaid wages and creates procedures for establishing, foreclosing, extinguishing, and prioritizing wage liens. The bill passed the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee and has received a hearing in the Appropriations Committee. At this point, it has not been scheduled for executive action. WSDF is opposed to this bill.

Workers’ Compensation

/ Scott

Below is a summary and status report (as of Feb. 21, 2017) of the workers’ compensation reform bill we have been working on.

SB 5822 – Workers’ Comp Reform: This bill would lower the age barriers for workers to approve claim settlement agreements and would clarify the definition of occupational disease. The bill passed the Senate Commerce, Labor & Sports Committee and is now in Senate Rules awaiting possible floor action. WSDF supports this reform bill.

Livestock Issues

/ Scott

Below are summaries and status reports (as of Feb. 21, 2017) of some livestock bills that we have been working on or closely following.

HB 2018 /SB 5750 – Concerning Livestock Inspection: The House and Senate versions are identical, and both passed out of policy committees last week. The bills are a compromise “first step” to balance income and expenses by increasing fees for brand inspection services. The brand program is 100 percent fee for service, and revenues have not kept pace with expenses. The Department of Agriculture originally asked for an increase to $42.50 per hour for inspector services. The industry suggested that a combination of efficiencies and some fee increases could close the gap and countered with a $27.50 per hour fee on inspection services, which is the amount in both bills. It is clear the WSDA brand program will need additional changes as the cost of a state employee to drive out and inspect cattle is growing prohibitively expensive.  (Reminder: dairy farmers can use the electronic cattle transaction reporting system, which costs much less to use. To sign up, go here.) Continue reading →

WSDF Board Update

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Markus Rollinger has been elected to the Dairy Federation Board of Directors. He will fill the unexpired term that was vacated by Tom Devries, who served for many year on the Dairy Federation Board. The term expires at the end of 2018.

Ten Dairy Federation Board members are elected by district, with staggered 3-year terms. In this case, Rollinger joins Art Mensonides and Keith Golob to represent the greater Yakima area.

Other board members include Chris Sybrandy, Jon DeJong and Terry Lensen (NW Washington); Walt Abplanalp and Eric Johnson (SW Washington); and Ed Zurcher and Henry Benthem (Eastern Washington).

Two appointed board members represent Western Washington (Dwayne Faber) and Eastern Washington (Austin Allread).