Washington Business 2019 Legislative Review & Vote Record | Page 10

2019 legislative review
contracting for personal services. It was a
direct attack on independent contractors
that would have changed the employer/
independent contractor relationship
into an employer/employee relationship.
Employers who hire an independent
contractor would be required to monitor
the contractor’s hours worked as if they
were an employee. We expect to see this
bill introduced again in 2020.
restrictive scheduling
SHB 1491
employer and employee
scheduling
Failed/AWB Opposed
Substitute House Bill 1491, sponsored
by Rep. Nicole Macri, D-Seattle, would
have required food service, hospitality,
and retail establishments (there
were provisions that could have been
interpreted to expand beyond those
industries) with more than 250 employees
worldwide to provide employees 14 days’
notice of work schedules, compensate
employees for schedule changes, grant
employee requests for schedule changes
under certain conditions, and meet other
requirements. In addition, it would have
required employers to give access to
additional hours to existing employees
before hiring externally. The bill also
would have restricted employers and
employees from negotiating changes to
schedules with short notice and would
have restricted the flexibility of employees
to change their schedule to accommodate
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association of washington business
State Reps. Larry Hoff, R-Vancouver; Bruce Chandler, R-Granger; and Ranking Member Gina
Mosbrucker, R-Goldendale, sit on the House Labor & Workforce Standards Committee.
unforeseen circumstances. The companion
bill was Senate Bill 5717, sponsored by Sen.
Rebecca Saldaña, D-Seattle. AWB opposed
both bills.
general human resource
matters
2SHB 1965
qui tam/whistleblower
actions
Failed/AWB Opposed
Second Substitute House Bill 1965, sponsored
by Rep. Drew Hansen, D-Bainbridge Island,
would have allowed whistleblowers to bring
actions on behalf of the state for violations
o f wo r k p l a c e p ro t e c t i o n s. It wo u l d
authorize a qui tam action for enforcement
of various employment laws under which
a relator (any natural person, corporation,
association, or other legal entity, or a
local government of the state) on behalf
of an agency may pursue relief the agency
may pursue. It would allow a split of any
penalties awarded between the agency and
the relator. The relator may bring a qui tam
action in court for any relief the specified
state agency may seek, including penalties,
equitable relief, and any relief specified
in rule. The action may allege multiple
violations affecting multiple employees.
The granting of relief is subject to the same
conditions and limitations that apply to
the agency, and the qui tam action must
be commenced within the same statute of
limitations applicable to the agency. This
bill would allow individuals to act when an
agency chooses to not move forward with
an enforcement action. This could lead to
an increase in frivolous actions. AWB is
opposed to any Qui Tam legislation. AWB
expects to see this legislation pursued in
future sessions.
SSB 5693
transparency in
agricultural supply chains
Failed/AWB Opposed
Substitute Senate Bill 5693, Sponsored by
Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, D-Seattle, attempted
to create transparency in the agricultural
supply chains. If passed, it would have have
required Washington state retail sellers and
manufacturers of agricultural products to