BILL REQ. #:  S-4068.2 

Read first time 02/01/12.   Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce & Consumer Protection.

     AN ACT Relating to addressing unemployment in the construction industry; adding a new chapter to Title 39 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that the unemployment and underemployment rate in the construction industry in Washington has remained chronically high throughout the previous two biennia; that the economic recovery of the state's construction industry is vital to the economic recovery of the entire state; that the lack of employment opportunities in the state's construction industry has substantially contributed to serious social or economic problems in the state; that a substantial number of in-state residents have experience or training in occupations that would be employed on a public works project; and that the employment of construction industry workers who are not Washington residents is a peculiar source of unemployment and underemployment of resident construction industry workers. The legislature therefore intends to address the chronic unemployment and underemployment of residents in the construction industry by establishing a temporary employment preference on public works contracts throughout the state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) The preference established in this section applies when the average quarterly employment figures in the construction industry as determined by the employment security department are twenty-five percent lower than the highest quarter employment figures in the most recent five-year period.
     (2) Eligible in-state residents must be given a minimum of fifty percent employment preference on public works contracts throughout the state. This hiring preference applies on a project-by-project and craft-by-craft basis, and must be met each workweek by each contractor and subcontractor for contracts that were subject to subsection (1) of this section when they were entered into.
     (3) A person is eligible for an employment preference under this section if the person is a resident, and:
     (a) Is receiving unemployment benefits or would be eligible to receive benefits but has exhausted them;
     (b) Is not working and has registered to find work with a public or private employment agency or a local hiring hall;
     (c) Is underemployed or marginally employed as defined by the department; or
     (d) Has completed a job-training program approved by the department and is either not employed or is engaged in employment that does not use the skills acquired in the job-training program.
     (3) For the purposes of this section, "department" means the employment security department.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) A contractor or subcontractor working on a public works project subject to prevailing wage requirements under a contract that was subject to subsection (1) of this section when it was entered into must meet the employment preference established in section 2 of this act.
     (2) An employer subject to a resident hiring requirement under this chapter shall certify that persons employed as residents under the preference were eligible for the preference at the time of hiring.
     (3) A labor organization that dispatches members for work on a public works project under a collective bargaining agreement shall certify that persons dispatched as residents to meet a preference were eligible for the preference at the time of dispatch.
     (4) An employer or labor organization may request assistance from the employment security department in verifying the eligibility of an applicant for a hiring preference under this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) An employer subject to hiring requirements under this chapter may request the employment security department to assist in locating qualified, eligible employees. After receiving a request for assistance, the department shall refer qualified, eligible, available residents to the employer to fill the employer's hiring needs. The employer shall cooperate with the department.
     (2) If the department is unable to refer a sufficient number of qualified, eligible, available residents able to perform the work, the department may approve the hiring of residents who are not eligible for preference and nonresidents for the balance of the request.
     (3) An employer obligated to meet resident hire requirements under this chapter shall comply with the reporting provisions that the director of the department determines are reasonably necessary to carry out this chapter. Except for statistical data, all information regarding specific employees is confidential and may not be released by the department. However, confidential employee information may be shared between public agencies for purposes of this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   (1) A contractor who violates a provision of this chapter shall have deducted from amounts due to the contractor under the contract the prevailing wages that should have been paid to a displaced resident, and these amounts shall be retained by the contracting agency.
     (2) In addition to being subject to the penalties under subsection (1) of this section, a contractor that knowingly and with intent to defraud makes a false statement or fails to provide or conceals, or attempts to conceal, material information for the purpose of obtaining, or aiding another in obtaining, a preference under this section is subject to a civil penalty of ten percent of the amount of the contract involved or ten thousand dollars, whichever is greater.
     (3) A contractor subject to sanction under this section may request, within thirty days of the date of issuance of the notice of sanction, a hearing conducted pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW.
     (4) If a contractor fails to pay an assessment or civil penalty after it has become final and not subject to further appeal, or after the court has entered final judgment in favor of the state, the attorney general may recover the assessment or penalty by action in the appropriate superior court. In such action, the validity and appropriateness of the final order imposing the assessment or penalty is not subject to review.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   In a contract involving expenditure of federal aid funds, this chapter may not be enforced in a manner that conflicts with federal statutes giving preference to veterans or prohibiting other preferences or discriminations among United States citizens.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   Sections 1 through 6 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 39 RCW.