BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to tipped employee health care insurance; and adding a new section to chapter 49.46 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 49.46 RCW to read as follows:

(1) All tips given to a tipped employee by a customer are the property of the employee, and the employer may not require that an employee give the employee's tips to the employer. An employer may consider tips as wages in satisfying the requirements of RCW 49.46.020 with respect to the amount that the minimum wage rate in effect under RCW 49.46.020 exceeds five dollars and fifteen cents per hour, if the employer offers health care insurance coverage to the tipped employee. The offer of health care insurance coverage must be as follows:

(a) During the one-year period following the date that the minimum wage rate in effect under RCW 49.46.020 first exceeds five dollars and fifteen cents, the employer must offer health care insurance coverage to full-time tipped employees, as defined in this section, not later than six months from the date of hire, or from the date health care insurance coverage is first offered to existing employees, and must pay not less that eighty percent of the total cost of the premium.

(b) During the second one-year period following the date that the minimum wage rate in effect under RCW 49.46.020 first exceeds five dollars and fifteen cents, and thereafter, the employer must offer health care insurance coverage to full-time tipped employees, as defined in this section, not later than three months from the date of hire, or from the date health care insurance coverage is first offered to existing employees, and must pay not less than fifty percent of the total cost of the premium. Not later than six months from the date of hire, or from the date health care insurance coverage is first offered to existing employees, the employer must pay eighty percent of the total cost of the premium.

(i) If the employer's health care insurance plan eligibility covers the number of hours worked, the employer must offer the same coverage as set forth in (b) of this subsection.

(ii) If the employer's health care insurance plan does not include eligibility because of the number of hours worked, the employer must offer to pay one-half of the total premium for the individual unsubsidized basic health plan coverage, as established under chapter 70.47 RCW, with the same waiting periods as set forth in (b) of this subsection.

(d) The employer's health care insurance plan offered to tipped employees must, at a minimum, meet the standards of the basic health plan, as established under chapter 70.47 RCW. An employer offering health care insurance under the provisions of this section may not terminate the plan before one year from the date the plan was first offered.

(e) The minimum wage paid under the provisions of this section must be fifty percent of the wage rate in effect under RCW 49.46.020, but not less than five dollars and fifteen cents per hour.

(2) For the purposes of this section:

(a) "Tipped employee" means an employee engaged in an occupation in which the employee customarily and regularly receives more than thirty dollars per month directly from customers as gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed.

(b) "Tips" means all sums presented by a customer to a tipped employee as gift or gratuity in recognition of some service performed by the tipped employee.

(d) "Part-time tipped employee" means a tipped employee who regularly works less than eighteen hours per week.

(3) Nothing in this section alters the terms, conditions, or practices contained in any collective bargaining agreement in effect at the time of the effective date of the act.

(4) An employer offering health care insurance under this section must inform prospective employees of the coverage that is offered and of the minimum wage to be paid.

(5) An employer electing to provide health care insurance under this section must provide affected employees with thirty days' notice of the employer's intent to implement the provisions of this section.

(6) An employer electing to provide health care insurance under this section must provide thirty days' notice of the open enrollment period and of the next available open enrollment period if coverage is declined.

(7) An employer electing to terminate a health care insurance plan provided under this section must provide each affected employee with no less than thirty days' written notice of the employer's intent to terminate the plan. The notice must include information regarding continuation of coverage options as applicable under relevant state and federal law.

(8) An employer electing not to provide health care under this section must pay each employee at least the minimum wage.

(9) The provisions of Title 48 RCW apply to this section.

(10) The department of labor and industries must adopt rules concerning verification that a health care insurance plan meeting the terms of this section is offered to tipped employees, that each employee has enrolled or declined, and that the notice required by this section is provided by employers opting to pay the minimum wage under the provisions of this section.

(11) The legislature must review this section in the year 2004 with respect to: This section's impact upon tipped employees, considering the current and projected minimum wage differential and tip income, and the cost, including an assessment of premium inflation, and adequacy of health care insurance for employees and employers; the degree of employee and employer participation in health care insurance coverage; and the incentives under this section for employers to make health care insurance available to the maximum possible number of employees, and the incentives for employees to opt to accept coverage.