Washington Business 2019 Legislative Review & Vote Record

2019 legislative review Employment & Labor Law Robert Battles: Labor & Employment Law, Immigration, Technology & Privacy, Litigation The 2019 legislative session was filled with a whirlwind of bills that had the potential to radically reshape the way business is done in Washington state. We saw legislation introduced that would change how independent contractors would be allowed to operate and would have limited the ability of employers and employees to control their own schedules. Many of the bills from earlier sessions were reintroduced, including legislation dealing with wage-and-hour reform, noncompetition agreements, workers’ compensation reform and privacy protections. Even with both houses being controlled by Democrats, many of the bills failed to move out of the Legislature. Many of these labor issues continue to be debated at the local level, however, and could result in a patchwork of labor and employment regulations that will ultimately hamper business growth and prevent innovation in Washington. Bob Battles is AWB’s government affairs director for legal affairs, employ- ment law, wage & hour, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance and workplace safety. AWB remains committed to working for a balanced approach that allows business to thrive and workers to be protected. Because many of the issues remained unresolved, it is expected that many of the bills introduced in the 2019 legislative session will return in the 2020 session. wage and hour SHB 1155 meal and rest breaks Passed/AWB Opposed Substitute House Bill 1155, sponsored by Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D - Spokane changes the meal and rest breaks and mandatory overtime requirements for certain health care employees. It provides that certain hospital employees must be allowed to take uninterrupted meal and rest periods, and amends the prohibition on mandatory overtime in health care facilities. It also prohibits an employer from using prescheduled on-call time to address certain staffing situations. The bill as passed requires that an employee who 4 association of washington business works more than 12 consecutive hours must be provided the option of at least eight consecutive hours of uninterrupted time off following the time worked. The companion bill was Senate Bill 5190, sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent. ESHB 1696 wage and hour information Passed/AWB Neutral Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1696, sponsored by sponsored Rep. Laurie Dolan, D - Olympia, limits what prior wages and salary information an employer may request of an employee. The new law will require employers to provide wage ranges for certain applicants and employees. It prohibits an employer from seeking the wage or salary history of an applicant or requiring that the wage or salary history meet certain criteria. The new law requires that employers with 15 or more employees provide to an applicant the minimum wage or salary for the position upon request after the employment offer to the applicant. It further requires an employer with 15 or more employees to provide, upon request of an employee offered a transfer or promotion, the wage scale or salary range for the new position. One of the key sections of the bill are as follows: Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 49.5819RCW to read as follows:

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