HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 1629

BYRepresentatives Vekich, Patrick, Cole, Locke, Appelwick, Anderson, Winsley, Leonard, Prentice, R. King, Rector, Wineberry, Scott, Jacobsen, Belcher, Cooper, Pruitt, Wang, Nutley, Phillips, K. Wilson, Cantwell, Valle, Brekke, Fraser, Nelson, P. King, O'Brien, Dellwo, Basich, Sayan, Ebersole, Rust, R. Fisher and Sprenkle; by request of Employment Security Department

Revising unemployment compensation provisions for agricultural labor.

House Committe on Commerce & Labor

Majority Report:  Do pass.  (6)

      Signed by Representatives Vekich, Chair; Cole, Vice Chair; Jones, R. King, Leonard and Prentice.

Minority Report:  Do not pass.  (4)

      Signed by Patrick, Ranking Republican Member; Smith, Walker and Wolfe.

House Staff:Chris Cordes (786-7117)

AS PASSED HOUSE FEBRUARY 24, 1989

BACKGROUND:

Workers in agricultural employment are covered for unemployment compensation benefits if the employer: (1) has paid twenty thousand dollars or more in wages for agricultural labor during any quarter in the current or preceding calendar year; (2) or has employed ten or more agricultural workers for some part of a day in each of twenty different calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.

Before an employee is eligible for unemployment compensation, the employee must have 680 hours of covered employment in his or her base year (four of the previous five calendar quarters).  If an agricultural worker is employed by an employer who does not meet the criteria for inclusion in covered employment, all of the hours worked for that employer are not "covered" hours.  Under these circumstances, a worker may be employed full-time in agricultural labor, but be ineligible for unemployment compensation following a layoff from employment.

SUMMARY:

The following provisions of unemployment insurance law are repealed: (1)  the provision excluding agricultural employment from covered employment and defining "agricultural labor"; and (2) the provision including within "covered employment" the services performed for an agricultural operator who either pays twenty thousand dollars or more for agricultural labor in a calendar quarter or who employs ten or more agricultural workers during the specified twenty week period.

Fiscal Note:      Requested January 30, 1989.

Effective Date:The bill takes effect January 1, 1990.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Graeme Sackrison, Employment Security Department; Tomas Villanueva, United Farm Workers; David Della, Inland Boatmen's Union; Larry Kenney, Washington State Labor Council; Celia Butterfield, Evergreen Legal Services; Margarito Ochoa; Gloria Penaloza; and Ignacio Gutierrez.

House Committee - Testified Against:      Clif Finch, Association of Washington Business;  Dan Coyne, Washington Dairymen's Federation; Greg Hanon, Washington Christmas Tree Growers; Randy Ray, Washington Association of Wheat Growers; Frank DeLong, Washington State Horticultural Association; Charles Peters; and Linda North.

House Committee - Testimony For:    Agricultural workers should be treated as all other major industry employees.  The agricultural industry should not continue to be subsidized at the expense of their employees.  Agricultural employees face the same work issues as all other employees who are already covered for unemployment insurance.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      The extension of coverage to agricultural employees should also include reforms of the unemployment insurance system.