S-522                 _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 5232

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By Senators Warnke, Lee, Vognild, Smitherman and Wojahn

Read first time 1/20/87 and referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

AN ACT Relating to unemployment compensation; and amending RCW 50.04.020 and 50.04.030.

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

        Sec. 1.  Section 3, chapter 35, Laws of 1945 as amended by section 1, chapter 2, Laws of 1970 ex. sess. and RCW 50.04.020 are each amended to read as follows:

          "Base year" with respect to each individual, shall mean either the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters or the last fifty-two completed calendar weeks immediately preceding the first day of the individual's benefit year.

For the purposes of establishing a benefit year, the department shall initially use the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters as the base year.  If a benefit year is not established using the first four of the last five calendar quarters as the base year, the department shall use the last fifty-two completed calendar weeks as the base year.

        Sec. 2.  Section 4, chapter 35, Laws of 1945 as last amended by section 1, chapter 33, Laws of 1977 ex. sess. and RCW 50.04.030 are each amended to read as follows:

          "Benefit year" with respect to each individual, means the fifty-two consecutive week period beginning with the first day of the calendar week in which the individual files an application for an initial determination and thereafter the fifty-two consecutive week period beginning with the first day of the calendar week in which the individual next files an application for an initial determination after the expiration of the individual's last preceding benefit year:  PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That the foregoing limitation shall not be deemed to preclude the establishment of a new benefit year under the laws of another state pursuant to any agreement providing for the interstate combining of employment and wages and the interstate payment of benefits nor shall this limitation be deemed to preclude the commissioner from backdating an initial application at the request of the claimant either for the convenience of the department of employment security or for any other reason deemed by the commissioner to be good cause.

          An individual's benefit year shall be extended to be fifty-three weeks when at the expiration of fifty-two weeks the establishment of a new benefit year would result in the use of a quarter of wages in the new base year that had been included in the individual's prior base year.

          No benefit year will be established unless it is determined that the individual earned wages in "employment" in not less than six hundred eighty hours of the individual's base year:  PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That a benefit year cannot be established if the base year wages include wages earned prior to the establishment of a prior benefit year unless the individual earned wages in "employment" during:  (1) The last two quarters of the new base year ((of not less than six times the weekly benefit amount computed for the individual's new benefit year)) if the new base year was established by using the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters; or (2) the last twenty-six weeks of the new base year if the new base year was established by using the last fifty-two completed calendar weeks.

If an individual's prior benefit year was based on fifty-two completed calendar weeks, a new benefit year shall not be established using completed calendar quarters until the new base year does not include any hours used in the establishment of the prior benefit year.  However, a new benefit year may be established using the last fifty-two completed calendar weeks.

          If the wages of an individual are not based upon a fixed duration of time or if the individual's wages are paid at irregular intervals or in such manner as not to extend regularly over the period of employment, the wages for any week shall be determined in such manner as the commissioner may by regulation prescribe.  Such regulation shall, so far as possible, secure results reasonably similar to those which would prevail if the individual were paid his or her wages at regular intervals.