HOUSE BILL REPORT

EHB 1844

BYRepresentatives Doty, Rasmussen, Heavey, Cole, Ballard, Leonard, Schoon, Nealey, Walker, Ferguson, May, Moyer, Brough, Miller, Bowman, Wood and Patrick

Regulating house-to-house sales.

House Committe on Commerce & Labor

Majority Report:  Do pass. (11)

      Signed by Representatives Vekich, Chair; Cole, Vice Chair; Patrick, Ranking Republican Member; Jones, R. King, Leonard, O'Brien, Prentice, Smith, Walker and Wolfe.

House Staff:Chris Cordes (786-7117)

AS PASSED HOUSE MARCH 8, 1989

BACKGROUND:

In recent years, several states and the U.S. Congress have investigated the practices of sales companies that employ youth in house-to-house sales.  Testimony before Congress indicated that this is a national concern with approximately 15,000 youths involved in house-to-house sales for 200 networking companies across the nation.  Typically these companies recruit through advertisements placed in local newspapers.

In many states, outside salespeople are exempted from some labor standard protections.  House-to-house salespeople generally fall within the definition of outside salespeople.  California, Oregon, Delaware and Massachusetts are among the states that regulate the employment of youth in house-to-house sales.

SUMMARY:

No person under 16 years of age may be employed in house-to- house sales, except under a variance granted by the Department of Labor and Industries.

Persons 16 or 17 years of age may be employed in house-to-house sales if the employer obtains and maintains a validated registration certificate from the department, provides the employee with a picture identification card to be shown to all customers, ensures supervision during all working hours, obtains written parental consent to transport the employee to another state, and does not permit the employee to engage in house-to-house sales after 9 p.m.

Employment with a parent, employment as a newspaper vendor, or voluntary activities for educational, charitable, religious or governmental entities are excluded from the definition of employment.

Any person advertising to employ a person under the age of 21 in house-to-house sales must also be registered with the department.  The advertisements must include the person's registration number, the specific nature of the employment and product or services to be sold, and the average monthly compensation paid to new employees.  The advertisement may not be false, misleading, or deceptive.  A violation of the advertisement requirements is a consumer protection violation.

Fiscal Note:      Requested February 20, 1989.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Brett Buckley, Department of Labor and Industries;  Paul Conrad, Allied Daily Newspapers (with concerns).

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    The number of complaints concerning young people involved in house-to-house sales has grown in recent years.  The Department of Labor and Industries has difficulty enforcing the labor standards because this type of work is necessarily mobile.  Stiffer standards would provide the department with a better enforcement tool.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.