5995-S AMH CL CORD 57

SSB 5995 - H COMM AMD ADOPTED 4/16/03

By Committee on Commerce & Labor

   Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

   "Sec. 1. RCW 49.12.187 and 1973 2nd ex.s. c 16 s 18 are each amended to read as follows:

   This chapter shall not be construed to interfere with, impede, or in any way diminish the right of employees to bargain collectively with their employers through representatives of their own choosing concerning wages or standards or conditions of employment. However, rules adopted under this chapter regarding appropriate rest and meal periods as applied to employees in the construction trades may be superseded by a collective bargaining agreement negotiated under the national labor relations act, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq., if the terms of the collective bargaining agreement covering such employees specifically require rest and meal periods and prescribe requirements concerning those rest and meal periods."

EFFECT: Under the amendment, the bill applies to all construction workers, not just those working with hot asphalt or other materials or processes that would not allow scheduled breaks, but only if: (1) the collective bargaining agreement has been negotiated under the National Labor Relations Act; and (2) the agreement specifically requires rest and meal periods. Makes various technical changes, including allowing agency rules to be "superseded" by a collective bargaining agreement instead of being "modified" by the agreement.