_______________________________________________
SENATE
BILL 5502
_______________________________________________
AS
AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
Passed
Legislature - 1999 Regular Session
State of Washington 56th
Legislature 1999 Regular Session
By
Read first time 01/25/1999.
Referred to Committee on Transportation.
Reporting
the salary survey of ferry employees.
AN
ACT Relating to a salary survey report by the marine employees' commission;
amending RCW 47.64.220; adding a new section to chapter 42.17 RCW; and creating
a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
47.64.220 and 1989 c 327 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
Prior to collective bargaining, the marine employees' commission shall conduct
a salary survey. The results of the survey shall be published in a report
which shall be a public document comparing wages, hours, employee benefits, and
conditions of employment of involved ferry employees with those of public and
private sector employees in states along the west coast of the United States,
including Alaska, and in British Columbia doing directly comparable but not
necessarily identical work, giving consideration to factors peculiar to the
area and the classifications involved. Such survey report shall be for
the purpose of disclosing generally prevailing levels of compensation,
benefits, and conditions of employment. It shall be used to guide generally
but not to define or limit collective bargaining between the parties. The
commission shall make such other findings of fact as the parties may request
during bargaining or impasse.
(2)
Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, salary and employee
benefit information collected from private employers that identifies a specific
employer with the salary and employee benefit rates which that employer pays to
its employees is not subject to public disclosure under chapter 42.17 RCW.
(3)
A person or entity, having reason to believe that the salary survey results are
inaccurate, may submit a petition to the state auditor requesting an audit of
the data upon which the salary survey results are based. The state auditor
shall review and analyze all data collected for the salary survey, including
proprietary information, but is prohibited from disclosing the salary survey
data to any other person or entity, except by court order.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 2. A
new section is added to chapter 42.17 RCW to read as follows:
Salary
and employee benefit information collected under RCW 47.64.220(1) and described
in RCW 47.64.220(2) is exempt from disclosure under this chapter except as
provided in RCW 47.64.220.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 3.
Section 1, chapter . . ., Laws of 1999 (section 1 of this act) is a
clarification of existing law and applies retroactively.
