2023 legislative review
Employment and Labor Law
Robert Battles : Labor & Employment Law , Immigration , Technology & Privacy , Litigation
Employment law was a challenging issue area for employers . In many ways the Legislature continued its attempt to push into new territories of government interference in day-to-day operations of private-sector businesses .
We saw that in Senate Bill 5236 , which mandated specific nurse staffing ratios in hospitals . Likewise , House Bill 1067 would have , for the first time , imposed prevailing wage on the private sector . AWB successfully opposed those provisions , neither of which passed in their original form that dictated day-to-day business operations . However , HB 1762 , which imposed government mandates on warehouse operations , did pass . AWB helped to make the bill slightly less problematic but still opposed it in final passage .
This happened in other cases as well , where AWB and employers were on the defensive . We worked to improve bad bills that even after amendments were still not something we could support . That required tactical decisions about whether to support a concurrence vote on a bad bill rather than sending it back for conference , where it could get worse .
Robert ( Bob ) Battles during a November meeting of the Legislative Task Force on Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Premiums .
So , while there were some bills that we stopped outright , a lot of the bills we opposed advanced in a form that often was better for our involvement , but that we still opposed .
AWB stood against bills that would impose a constant interference by government into the day-to-day operations of businesses , helping fight against expansion of programs that will ultimately lead to heavy costs on employers and employees .
unemployment insurance
HB 1106 voluntary quits
Passed / AWB Opposed sponsor : Rep . Mary Fosse , D-Everett
This bill addressed four separate elements of the exclusive list of reasons an employee may quit a job and still receive unemployment insurance benefits . Three of those proposals were not opposed by the business community : coverage for schedule changes by more than six hours ; relocating to care for a minor child as this allowance aligns with current statute to relocate to follow a spouse ; and change in definition of “ immediate family member ” to “ family member .” However , this bill also allows people to qualify for unemployment insurance payments if they voluntarily quit work to care for children or a vulnerable adult . While this is a noble cause ( and AWB is helping lead the effort to increase access to quality , affordable child care ), this bill is not a workable solution . First , to qualify for unemployment payments , a claimant has to certify that he or she is able and available to work — but if this worker just quit because of the need to care for a child or vulnerable adult , then that person by definition is not able to work . The bill also has the potential to drastically increase costs for the UI system , which are paid by every employer and worker in the state . The bill passed the House 51-44 and the Senate 26-20 .
HB 1095 / SB 5109 wage replacement for undocumented workers
Failed / AWB Opposed
8 association of washington business