Washington Business 2019 Legislative Review & Vote Record | Page 12

2019 legislative review
be revoked if the assurances fail to ensure
uninterrupted service delivery. Like
in earlier bills, this bill would restrict
contracts to those who agree to labor
provisions. AWB opposes any legislation
that restricts access to some businesses
because of labor agreements and opposed
this bill.
E2SSB 5438
h-2a temporary
agricultural program
Passed/AWB Opposed/Neutral
Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill
5438, sponsored by Sen. John McCoy,
D-Tulalip, creates the Office of Agricultural
and Seasonal Workforce Services within the
Employment Security Department (ESD)
to process and adjudicate applications
and complaints, conduct field checks,
training, outreach, and collect fees. The
major concern with this legislation was
the funding source. Initially the program
was funded by fees. AWB opposed the
implementation of additional fees. Funding
was changed to an appropriation from the
general fund. The bill requires ESD to
formulate and adopt rules to implement
fees to cover the cost of administering the
program, if federal funds are not sufficient
to meet statutory obligations. It further
requires an advisory committee be created.
AWB opposed the original bill as introduced
and was neutral on the bill as amended
as passed. The companion bill was House
Bill 1398, sponsored by Rep. Laurie Dolan,
D-Olympia.
HB 1445
unemployment benefits
Failed/AWB Opposed
House Bill 1445, sponsored by Rep. Mia
Gregerson, D-Des Moines, would have
made unemployment benefits accessible
to persons with family responsibilities and
other availability issues. It also would have
modified the unemployment statutes to
allow someone to receive benefits if their
schedule changes and they are not able
to take a new position due to child care
10 association of washington business
Reps. Zack Hudgins, D-Tukwila, talks with Shelley Kloba, D-Kirkland. He is chair and she is vice
chair of the House Innovation, Technology, and Economic Development Committee.
conflicts. There were several concerns with
this bill. It was not clear if the employer’s
experience rating would be affected by the
claim. In addition, several of the potential
claims would already be covered by the new
Paid Family and Medical Leave statute. AWB
was opposed to this bill. The companion
bill was Senate Bill 5473, sponsored by Sen.
Rebecca Saldaña, D-Seattle.
ESSB 5258
preventing sexual
harassment and sexual
assault
Passed/AWB Neutral
Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5258,
sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent,
requires certain employers that employ
custodians, security guards, hotel or motel
housekeepers, or other isolated workers
to adopt a sexual harassment policy,
provide mandatory sexual harassment
training, provide a list of resources to
employees, and provide a panic button to
each isolated worker. AWB was neutral on
this bill. The companion bill was House
Bill 1728 sponsored by Rep. Noel Frame,
D-Greenwood.
workers compensation
While we saw few bills addressing
workers’ compensation in 2019, there
were some significant concerns that
arose in the 2019 session. The most
significant issue is the misappropriation
of 608 (Accident) & 609 (Medical
Aid) Funds. In this session there was
an extraordinary raid on the workers’
compensation dedicated funds. AWB
opposed two budget provisos in the
House L&I Budget (ESHB 1109). They
amounted to more than $3.5 million
being diverted away from the dedicated
funds to pay for apprenticeships. Those
provisions remained in the final budget.
In addition to those diversions, the final
budget included a budget proviso using
$625,000 from the accident and medical
funds to pay for clean energy legislation.
The following are the ESHB 1109 Sec 219
provisions in the L&I budget.
(3) $1,700,000 of the accident account—
state appropriation and $300,000
of the medical aid account— state
appropriations are provided solely for a
contract with a permanently registered