Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: The purpose of amending the apprenticeship rules in chapter 296-05 WAC is to allow for flexibility in scheduling of Washington state apprenticeship and training council (WSATC) regular meetings and to allow business to be conducted without interruption when there are circumstances which require the meetings to be rescheduled.
Due to scheduling conflicts, the department of labor and industries (L&I) recently had to cancel a WSATC meeting, delaying the conduct of business. To prevent such cancellations in the future, L&I amended WAC 296-05-008 and 296-05-200 to allow for the rescheduling of regularly scheduled WSATC meetings.
With these changes, meetings can be rescheduled within 28 calendar days following the original scheduled meeting date. This accommodates Open Public Meetings Act notification requirements.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 296-05-008 and 296-05-200.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 23-05-077 on February 14, 2023.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: April 18, 2023.
(1) Regular meetings: Convened on the third Thursday of January, April, July, and October, held at locations within Washington, and open to the general public. Members of the public cannot be required to register their name, give any information, or fulfill any condition prior to attending council meetings. All council meetings must be conducted according to the provisions of chapter
42.30 RCW, Open Public Meetings Act and chapter
34.05 RCW, Administrative Procedure Act.
(a) Notice of regular meetings: The supervisor must distribute notice not later than 30 calendar days prior to the meeting date to anyone who has requested notice of the regular meetings.
(b) The supervisor must send notices to all WSATC members, including ex officio members, and approved program sponsors.
(c) The following WSATC activities must take place in open public meetings:
(i) All transactions of official business;
(ii) All commitments or promises;
(iii) All collective discussions;
(iv) All collective decisions; and
(v) All council actions.
(d) The approval or disapproval of committee programs, plant programs, or amendments to those programs can only occur at regular quarterly meetings unless the council is responding to a court mandate, which can occur at a special meeting. The approval or disapproval of committee programs, plant programs, or amendments to those programs can also occur at a special meeting when the council considers the record and enters a final order following an adjudication conducted under subsection (6) of this section.
(e) Rescheduling regular meetings: Called at the request of the chair or by a majority of the WSATC members.
(i) When a regular meeting is rescheduled, the rescheduled meeting must occur on a date that is after the original scheduled date of the meeting (and not before the original scheduled date), and no more than 28 calendar days after the original scheduled date.
(ii) Notice of the rescheduled meeting: The supervisor must distribute notice to all WSATC members, including ex officio members, and approved program sponsors. Rescheduling must comply with the provisions of chapter 42.30 RCW, Open Public Meetings Act and chapter 34.05 RCW, Administrative Procedure Act. (iii) The rescheduling of a regular meeting does not affect other deadlines in these rules. All deadlines and time frames will remain based on the original scheduled date of the regular meeting; only the date of the regular meeting will be affected by the change.
(2) Special meetings: Called at the request of the chair or by a majority of the WSATC members, and open to the general public.
(a) Procedure for special meetings: To call a special meeting, the calling members must:
(i) Mail a written notice with the date, time, and location of the meeting that specifies the business to be transacted at the meeting, either personally or by mail, at least seven calendar days before the specified date of the meeting, to each member of the WSATC, all approved program sponsors, and those who have requested prior notice of special meetings.
(ii) Waiver: The notice requirements to WSATC members may be waived in writing at or prior to the meeting, but all members must agree to waive notice and file the waiver with the supervisor.
(b) Content of special meetings: The subject matter of the special meeting must not exceed the scope of the written notice. If the WSATC takes action on a matter exceeding the scope of the written notice, the action is not final even if the members waive notice.
(c) Special meetings for rule changes: To call a special meeting to consider rule changes, the WSATC must:
(i) ((Mail a))Provide written notice with the date, time, and location of the meeting that specifies the rules to be changed at the meeting, either personally ((or)), by mail, or by electronic means at least 20 calendar days before the meeting.
(ii) Waiver: The notice requirements may not be waived for special meetings when rule changes are contemplated.
(3) Registered apprenticeship standards actions: When a party requests specific action from the WSATC related to apprenticeship standards, such request must:
(a) Be in writing; and
(b) Signed by the committee's elected chair and secretary, or by an authorized signer approved by the petitioning sponsor;
(c) Sent to the apprenticeship supervisor at least 45 days prior to the date of the regular quarterly meeting.
Requests that are untimely are deferred to the next quarterly meeting.
(4) Other actions: When a party requests specific action or consideration from the WSATC on other issues, such requests must:
(a) Be in writing; and
(b) Sent to the apprenticeship supervisor at least 15 business days prior to the date of the regular quarterly meeting.
Requests that are untimely are deferred to the next quarterly meeting unless waived by the supervisor.
(5) Voting: All council members, except ex officio members, appointed by the director of the department of labor and industries are voting members of the council.
(a) A quorum is two-thirds of the WSATC members entitled to vote.
(b) The chair shall establish a standing tie-breaker committee comprised of three WSATC members entitled to vote:
(i) An employer representative;
(ii) An employee representative; and
(iii) A public member.
(c) The apprenticeship supervisor or designee shall act as secretary to the tie-breaker committee and furnish all information necessary for a decision.
(d) In case of a tie vote on any proposed standards brought before the WSATC, the tie-breaker committee shall meet or confer, review the record, and render a decision within 30 calendar days.
(6) Adjudicative proceedings: All hearings and adjudication, under chapter
49.04 RCW and these rules, shall be conducted according to chapters
34.05 RCW and 10-08 WAC. The chair (or designee) is the presiding officer for adjudicative proceedings held before the WSATC. The WSATC may either adjudicate matter(s) itself, or refer matter(s) to the office of administrative hearings for initial adjudication.
If the initial adjudication is before the WSATC, the WSATC will enter a final order. If the initial adjudication is held at the office of administrative hearings, the administrative hearings judge shall issue an initial order. The WSATC, upon review of the initial order shall enter the final order. An initial order shall become final without further WSATC action five business days after the next regular or rescheduled quarterly meeting unless:
(a) The WSATC upon its own motion determines that the initial order should be reviewed; or
(b) A party to the proceedings files a petition for review of the initial order.
(7) Final WSATC orders or decisions affecting registration and oversight of apprenticeship programs and agreements for federal purposes may be appealed within 30 calendar days to the director of the department pursuant to the following:
(a) An appellant must file with the director an original and four copies of the notice of appeal.
(i) The notice of appeal must specify findings and conclusions at issue in the appeal;
(ii) The director or designee shall serve notice of receipt of the appeal, including copies of the appeal on all parties within five business days from date of receipt;
(iii) The respondent parties may file with the director or designee written arguments within 30 calendar days after the date the notice of receipt of appeal was served upon them.
(b) The director or designee shall review the record in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, chapter
34.05 RCW. The director or designee shall issue a final decision affirming, modifying, or reversing the WSATC final order or decision or may remand the matter to the WSATC for further proceedings.
(c) With respect to cancellation of programs only, any aggrieved party may appeal, for federal purposes, a final decision by the director (or director's designee) by following the procedures in 29 C.F.R. 29.8 (b)(5).
(d) Any aggrieved party may appeal the final decision to superior court pursuant to chapter
34.05 RCW. If no party appeals within the period set by RCW
34.05.542, the director's decision is final and binding on all parties.
(8) Limitations: Nothing in this part or in any apprenticeship agreement will operate to invalidate:
(a) Any apprenticeship provision in any collective bargaining agreement between employers and employees establishing higher apprenticeship standards; or
(b) Any special provision for veterans, minority person, or women in the standards, apprentice qualifications or operation of the program, or in the apprenticeship agreement, which is not otherwise prohibited by law, executive order, or authorized regulation.
(9) Retroactivity: The WSATC may make any action or decision which it takes retroactive to the date of the previous business session.
(1) When the supervisor determines that a program is operating in violation of its program standards, these rules, or applicable laws, the supervisor may recommend a program's registration be canceled. Cancellation of a program also serves to cancel any apprenticeship agreements.
(2) The supervisor must:
(a) Provide notice of deficiencies to the program and ((sixty))60 calendar days to correct the identified deficiencies;
(b) Provide notice that the program's registration may be canceled if the deficiencies are not corrected within ((sixty))60 calendar days of receipt of the notice, and a notice of correction is sent to the supervisor within ((sixty))60 calendar days of receipt of the notice;
(3) If the program does not correct identified deficiencies in a timely manner, the supervisor may begin the following procedures to cancel the program's registration. The supervisor must:
(a) Make a written recommendation to the WSATC that the program be canceled;
(b) Provide a record to the WSATC detailing the notice given to the program to correct identified deficiencies;
(c) Provide notice of the recommendation to the program sponsor and the apprenticeship committee responsible for administering the program;
(d) Provide the required notice ((thirty))30 calendar days before the next regularly scheduled quarterly meeting for the WSATC to act on the supervisor's recommendation to cancel a program's registration. Absent an emergency, if notice is given fewer than ((thirty))30 calendar days, the supervisor's recommendation to cancel a program's registration is heard at the subsequent regularly scheduled quarterly meeting. A rescheduling of the regularly scheduled quarterly meeting does not affect the date to provide the required notice; the date for providing the required notice will remain based on the original scheduled date of the WSATC regular meeting.
(4) When the recommended program cancellation is heard before the WSATC, the supervisor or any interested party may present evidence or testimony to the WSATC regarding the recommended cancellation. The WSATC must vote on the supervisor's recommendation to cancel a program's registration. If a majority of the members approve the supervisor's recommendation, the WSATC provides written notice to all interested parties that the program's registration has been canceled. The program sponsor has ((thirty))30 days from the date the WSATC mails its notice to the program sponsor to file an appeal with the director.
(5) When the supervisor recommends a program be canceled because the program violates federal law, and the WSATC cancels the program's registration as required by federal law, the program may also file an appeal with the U.S. Department of Labor, pursuant to 29 C.F.R. Parts 29 and 30.