BILL REQ. #:  H-0854.1 

Read first time 01/27/09.   Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

     AN ACT Relating to computing the median wage; and amending RCW 50.04.355.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 50.04.355 and 2003 2nd sp.s. c 4 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) ((For computations made before January 1, 2007, the employment security department shall compute, on or before the fifteenth day of June of each year, an "average annual wage", an "average weekly wage", and an "average annual wage for contributions purposes" from information for the specified preceding calendar years including corrections thereof reported within three months after the close of the final year of the specified years by all employers as defined in RCW 50.04.080.
     (a) The "average annual wage" is the quotient derived by dividing the total remuneration reported by all employers for the preceding calendar year by the average number of workers reported for all months of the preceding calendar year and if the result is not a multiple of one dollar, rounding the result to the next lower multiple of one dollar.
     (b) The "average weekly wage" is the quotient derived by dividing the "average annual wage" obtained under (a) of this subsection by fifty-two and if the result is not a multiple of one dollar, rounding the result to the next lower multiple of one dollar.
     (c) The "average annual wage for contributions purposes" is the quotient derived by dividing by three the total remuneration reported by all employers subject to contributions for the preceding three consecutive calendar years and dividing this amount by the average number of workers reported for all months of these three years by these same employers and if the result is not a multiple of one dollar, rounding the result to the next lower multiple of one dollar.
     (2) For computations made on or after January 1, 2007,)) The employment security department shall compute, on or before the fifteenth day of June of each year, an "average annual wage," an "average weekly wage," and an "average annual wage for contributions purposes" from information for the preceding calendar year including corrections thereof reported within three months after the close of that year by all employers as defined in RCW 50.04.080.
     (a) The "average annual wage" is the quotient derived by dividing the total remuneration reported by all employers by the average number of workers reported for all months and if the result is not a multiple of one dollar, rounding the result to the next lower multiple of one dollar.
     (b) The "average weekly wage" is the quotient derived by dividing the "average annual wage" obtained under (a) of this subsection by fifty-two and if the result is not a multiple of one dollar, rounding the result to the next lower multiple of one dollar.
     (c) The "average annual wage for contributions purposes" is the quotient derived by dividing the total remuneration reported by all employers subject to contributions by the average number of workers reported for all months by these same employers and if the result is not a multiple of one dollar, rounding the result to the next lower multiple of one dollar.
     (2) The employment security department shall also compute, on or before the fifteenth day of June of each year, the median annual wage and the median weekly wage from information for the preceding calendar year including corrections thereof reported within three months after the close of that year by all employers as defined in RCW 50.04.080. The department shall also compute the average annual wages and weekly wages for each decile. If not multiples of one dollar, the results shall be rounded to the next lower multiple of one dollar.