AN ACT Relating to occupational safeguards for operators of video display terminals; adding a new chapter to Title 49 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. Unless the contest clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Department" means the department of labor and industries.

(2) "Director" means the director of the department of labor and industries.

(3) "Employee" means employee as defined in RCW 49.17.020.

(4) "Employer" means employer as defined in RCW 49.17.020.

(5) "Terminal" means any type of electronic video screen data presentation machine, commonly known as a video display terminal or cathode-ray tube. Nothing in this section may be construed to apply to television or oscilloscope screens, except to the extent that they are used as terminals for presentation of verbal or numerical data.

(6) "Terminal operator" means any employee who normally operates a terminal for two or more hours a day.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Every employer shall provide for the safety and health of all employees by providing workplace conditions consistent with rules adopted by the department which shall constitute the minimum compliance level.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. Employers shall provide for semiannual maintenance of all terminals to insure clear presentation of display and proper functioning of all display instruments and shall keep and maintain a full record of repairs and maintenance for the life of the machine plus five years.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Employers shall provide all employers who use or will use a terminal with the following information about:

(1) The rights and duties under this chapter and this requirement may be met by posting a copy of this chapter in a prominent place;

(2) Hazards associated with terminal use and the associated symptoms, including but not limited to, the following:

(a) Deterioration of visual acuity, either temporary or permanent;

(b) Headache, burning of eyes;

(d) Changes in color perception; and

(3) Precautions which the employee can take to minimize hazards.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) Employers shall provide for the visual health and safety of terminal operators by:

(a) Allowing the employee to secure annual visual examinations during paid work hours. If the employee, because of the schedule of work, cannot arrange an examination during working hours, the employee shall be compensated at the normal rate for time the employee uses for the examination;

(b) Paying the annual opthalmological or optometric examination fees, to the extent that the fees are not paid to the employee through an insurance policy; and

(c) Payment to the employee of an amount equal to the cost to that employee of any necessary and proper refractive lenses or replacement lenses or eye wear that are called for by the annual examination.

(2) An employee to be assigned to terminal work shall be examined before beginning the assignment, or within thirty days thereafter, and again in each subsequent year the employee is so employed. Where employees have been assigned to terminal work prior to the effective date of this act, these employees shall be examined within ninety days of the effective date of this act.

(3) No employer shall use the results of the eye or health examination to screen prospective operators for suitability for employment.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) A minimum of one fifteen-minute rest period shall be provided for each two hours of work for all video display terminal operators. However, those operators who are engaged in data entry, data acquisition, word processing, or other repetitive work for four or more hours per day shall be provided a fifteen-minute period of alternate work or rest every one hour. The breaks shall be provided at no loss or reduction in pay for each affected employee. These provisions are minimum conditions and nothing in this chapter shall preclude employers and labor organizations from agreeing to more frequent rest periods or rest periods of longer duration which may exceed the conditions stated in this section.

(2) No video display terminal work shall be done during the last quarter hour of the work day.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Each terminal installed for use after the effective date of this act shall be equipped with all of the following items:

(1) Detachable keyboard or other device which allows the operator to maintain both a correct viewing posture and a proper typing position;

(2) Brightness and contrast controls which are readily adjustable by the operator;

(3) A wrist rest, where the keyboard is not constructed so as to provide one;

(4) A footrest, so that the operator's feet rest flat on the floor;

(5) An adjustable document holder for terminal operators using documents in connection with their terminal work; and

(6) All terminals not contained in metal cabinets or cabinets with metallic coatings shall have their transformers shielded by a structure of grounded conductive metal to block low-frequency radiation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) Each operator of a terminal shall be provided with the following furniture for use with that terminal:

(a) A chair capable of being adjusted for seat and backrest heights and backrest tension by the occupant while seated; and

(b) An adjustable table for holding the terminal.

(2) An employer shall not be liable for violation of this section for one year after the effective date of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. Eye strain shall be reduced by:

(1) The use of indirect lighting;

(2) Recessed direct lighting fixtures and mounting louvers or other special covers to direct light downward, rather than permit the light to be diffused; and

(3) Terminals arranged so as to direct the primary heat exhausts, without intervening ducts, walls, or insulation, from coming within four feet of the place where any person is stationed for periods of time.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. (1) Illumination levels in any video display terminal work area shall be controlled and maintained within the range of three hundred to one thousand two hundred lux. However, for any work area in which the illumination level is greater than seven hundred lux, the employer shall provide either adjustable lighting controls (rheostatic or equivalent) for the particular work area, or other individualized lighting, as opposed to general office lighting.

(2) Proper illumination shall be provided in any video display terminal work area so that both video display terminal screen and hard copy can be read without undue discomfort or fatigue.

(3) Windows shall be shielded by curtains, shades, or blinds to prevent excess illuminance and reflected glare into any video display terminal work area.

(4) To the maximum extent feasible, light-absorptive and nonreflective coatings and colors shall be used on all wall surfaces and office partitions to reduce glare and excess illuminance.

(5) Where available from the terminal manufacturer, screens (antireflection filters) to minimize glare from the video display terminal face shall be so properly placed and maintained.

(6) Terminals shall be positioned so that glare sources including windows and lighting are not reflected on the screens.

(7) Separate task lamps to illuminate hard copy shall be made available to each terminal operator upon request.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Each operator shall be provided training in the proper and safe use of the equipment, including but not limited to recommended ergonomic practices and potential hazards, as well as preventive measures to ensure a healthful working environment.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. Until scientific evidence proves that there are no hazards to video display terminal work, or upon request whenever necessary to prevent possible impairment of reproductive health, the employer shall provide the operator the opportunity to transfer temporarily to nonterminal work without loss of pay, seniority, or any other employment-related benefits.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Employers shall give serious consideration to the design of jobs and in the selection of new technology to enhance the job as a means to reduce work stress and to create motivated employees. Jobs should not fragment work into repetitive, monotonous tasks, and employers should strive to structure jobs so that operators are not required to use a terminal for more than fifty percent of their usual working hours.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. Individual monitoring of performance by computer technology shall be prohibited as an invasion of privacy.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. (1) The director may adopt rules under chapter 34.04 RCW for the purposes of this chapter.

(2) The director may authorize inspections made of any workplace where terminals are used.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. Any violation of this chapter or of any rule adopted by the director under this chapter shall subject the employer to assessment of a civil penalty of not less than one thousand dollars for each violation. For purposes of this section, each day of a continuing violation constitutes a separate violation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. Sections 1 through 16 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 49 RCW.