HOUSE BILL REPORT

SSB 5392

As Amended by the House

BYSenate Committee on Commerce & Labor (originally sponsored by Senators Warnke, Wojahn, Vognild, Smitherman, Williams, Talmadge, Bender, Rasmussen and Conner;by request of Joint Select Committee on Unemployment Insurance and Compensation)

Changing requirements for establishment of benefit years for unemployment compensation.

House Committe on Commerce & Labor

Majority Report:  Do pass with amendment.  (11)

      Signed by Representatives Wang, Chair; Cole, Vice Chair; Fisch, Fisher, R. King, O'Brien, Patrick, Sanders, Sayan, C. Smith and Walker.

House Staff:Chris Cordes (786-7117)

AS PASSED HOUSE APRIL 16, 1987

BACKGROUND:

An unemployment compensation claimant must have 680 hours of covered employment in his or her base year to qualify for unemployment compensation.  The base year is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the benefit year.  The benefit year begins the first day of the week in which the claim is filed.

It is possible for a claimant to file an application for unemployment compensation that uses hours earned prior to the establishment of a previous benefit year, if the hours are contained in the quarter following the base year (the fifth quarter).  In this case, the claimant must have earned six times the new weekly benefit amount in the last two quarters of the new base year to qualify for compensation.

The Joint Select Committee on Unemployment Compensation and Insurance recommended that the requirement for earning six times the weekly benefit amount be repealed.

SUMMARY:

A person who files an application for unemployment compensation and uses hours that were earned prior to the filing of a previous claim to establish eligibility must have earned wages of not less than six times the weekly benefit amount since the beginning of the waiting period for the previous benefit year.

Fiscal Note:      Requested April 6, 1987.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Jeff Johnson, Washington State Labor Council; Bob Dilger, Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council.

Neutral:  Graeme Sackrison, Employment Security Department.

House Committee - Testified Against:      Clif Finch, Association of Washington Business.

House Committee - Testimony For:    The restrictive requalifying provisions for unemployment compensation disqualify many claimants who have significant attachment to the work force.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      Lengthening the period in which an unemployment claimant is allowed to earn the requalifying wages may have the effect of allowing a claimant to qualify for two benefit years based on one period of unemployment.