AN ACT Relating to employer reporting to the
Washington state support registry; amending RCW 26.23.040; and declaring an
emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1.
RCW 26.23.040 and 1989 c 360 s 39 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of
this section, all employers doing business in the state of Washington, and to
whom the department of employment security has assigned the standard industrial
classification sic codes listed in subsection (2) of this section, shall report
to the Washington state support registry:
(a) The hiring of any person who resides or
works in this state to whom the employer anticipates paying earnings; and
(b) The rehiring or return to work of any
employee who was laid off, furloughed, separated, granted a leave without pay,
or terminated from employment.
(2) Employers in the standard industrial
classifications that shall report to the Washington state support registry
include:
(a) Construction industry sic codes: 15,
building; and 16, other than building;
(b) Manufacturing industry sic code 37,
transportation equipment;
(c) Wholesale trade industry sic codes: 73,
business services, except sic code 7362 (temporary help supply services); and
80, health services.
(3) Employers are not required to report the
hiring of any person who:
(a) Will be employed for less than one months
duration;
(b) Will be employed sporadically so that the
employee will be paid for less than three hundred fifty hours during a
continuous six-month period; or
(c) Will have gross earnings less than three
hundred dollars in every month.
The secretary of the department of social and
health services may adopt rules to establish additional exemptions if needed to
reduce unnecessary or burdensome reporting.
(4) Employers may report by mailing the
employee's copy of the W-4 form, or other means authorized by the registry
which will result in timely reporting.
(5) Employers shall submit reports within
thirty-five days of the hiring, rehiring, or return to work of the employee.
The report shall contain:
(a) The employee's name, address, social
security number, and date of birth; and
(b) The employer's name, address, and
employment security reference number or unified business identifier number.
(6) An employer who fails to report as required
under this section shall be given a written warning for the first violation and
shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to two hundred dollars per month for
each subsequent violation after the warning has been given. All violations
within a single month shall be considered a single violation for purposes of
assessing the penalty. The penalty may be imposed and collected by the office
of support enforcement under RCW 74.20A.270.
(7) The registry shall retain the information
for a particular employee only if the registry is responsible for establishing,
enforcing, or collecting a support obligation or debt of the employee. If the
employee does not owe such an obligation or a debt, the registry shall not
create a record regarding the employee and the information contained in the
notice shall be promptly destroyed.
(((8) This section shall expire on July 1,
1993.))
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.
This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace,
health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public
institutions, and shall take effect immediately.
