BILL REQ. #:  S-3278.2 

Read first time 01/14/14.   Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

     AN ACT Relating to whistleblowers in the electrical industry; amending RCW 19.28.006; and adding new sections to chapter 19.28 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 19.28 RCW to read as follows:
     The use of unsafe practices and work in violation of this chapter can cause serious and preventable injury to employees and the public in addition to property damage. It is the policy of the legislature that employees should be protected from workplace reprisal or retaliatory action for the opposition to or reporting in good faith of practices that may violate the provisions of this chapter and the rules adopted hereunder, or of the safety, installation, repair, or maintenance policies of their employers. The legislature intends to protect employees by authorizing investigations of whistleblower complaints.

Sec. 2   RCW 19.28.006 and 2013 c 23 s 27 are each amended to read as follows:
     The definitions in this section apply throughout this subchapter.
     (1) "Administrator" means a person designated by an electrical contractor to supervise electrical work and electricians in accordance with the rules adopted under this chapter.
     (2) "Basic electrical work" means the work classified in (a) and (b) of this subsection as class A and class B basic electrical work:
     (a) "Class A basic electrical work" means the like-in-kind replacement of a: Contactor, relay, timer, starter, circuit board, or similar control component; household appliance; circuit breaker; fuse; residential luminaire; lamp; snap switch; dimmer; receptacle outlet; thermostat; heating element; luminaire ballast with an exact same ballast; ten horsepower or smaller motor; or wiring, appliances, devices, or equipment as specified by rule.
     (b) "Class B basic electrical work" means work other than class A basic electrical work that requires minimal electrical circuit modifications and has limited exposure hazards. Class B basic electrical work includes the following:
     (i) Extension of not more than one branch electrical circuit limited to one hundred twenty volts and twenty amps each where:
     (A) No cover inspection is necessary; and
     (B) The extension does not supply more than two outlets;
     (ii) Like-in-kind replacement of a single luminaire not exceeding two hundred seventy-seven volts and twenty amps;
     (iii) Like-in-kind replacement of a motor larger than ten horsepower;
     (iv) The following low voltage systems:
     (A) Repair and replacement of devices not exceeding one hundred volt-amperes in Class 2, Class 3, or power limited low voltage systems in one and two-family dwellings;
     (B) Repair and replacement of the following devices not exceeding one hundred volt-amperes in Class 2, Class 3, or power limited low voltage systems in other buildings, provided the equipment is not for fire alarm or nurse call systems and is not located in an area classified as hazardous by the national electrical code; or
     (v) Wiring, appliances, devices, or equipment as specified by rule.
     (3) "Board" means the electrical board under RCW 19.28.311.
     (4) "Chapter" or "subchapter" means the subchapter, if no chapter number is referenced.
     (5) "Department" means the department of labor and industries.
     (6) "Director" means the director of the department or the director's designee.
     (7) "Electrical construction trade" includes, but is not limited to, installing or maintaining electrical wires and equipment that are used for light, heat, or power and installing and maintaining remote control, signaling, power limited, or communication circuits or systems.
     (8) "Electrical contractor" means a person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity that offers to undertake, undertakes, submits a bid for, or does the work of installing or maintaining wires or equipment that convey electrical current.
     (9) "Equipment" means any equipment or apparatus that directly uses, conducts, insulates, or is operated by electricity but does not mean: Plug-in appliances; or plug-in equipment as determined by the department by rule.
     (10) "Industrial control panel" means a factory-wired or user-wired assembly of industrial control equipment such as motor controllers, switches, relays, power supplies, computers, cathode ray tubes, transducers, and auxiliary devices. The panel may include disconnect means and motor branch circuit protective devices.
     (11) "Journey level electrician" means a person who has been issued a journey level electrician certificate of competency by the department.
     (12) "Like-in-kind" means having similar characteristics such as voltage requirements, current draw, and function, and being in the same location.
     (13) "Master electrician" means either a master journey level electrician or master specialty electrician.
     (14) "Master journey level electrician" means a person who has been issued a master journey level electrician certificate of competency by the department and who may be designated by an electrical contractor to supervise electrical work and electricians in accordance with rules adopted under this chapter.
     (15) "Master specialty electrician" means a person who has been issued a specialty electrician certificate of competency by the department and who may be designated by an electrical contractor to supervise electrical work and electricians in accordance with rules adopted under this chapter.
     (16) "Specialty electrician" means a person who has been issued a specialty electrician certificate of competency by the department.
     (17) "Whistleblower" means any employee who in good faith reports practices or opposes practices that may violate the provisions of this chapter or the rules adopted hereunder, or of the safety, installation, repair, or maintenance policies of his or her employer. The term also means (a) an employee who is believed to have reported such practices but who, in fact, has not reported such practices or (b) an employee who has assisted in the reporting of practices or has provided testimony or information in connection with the reporting of practices.
     (18) "Workplace reprisal or retaliatory action" includes actions such as discharge or in any manner discrimination against any employee who has reported or filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this chapter, or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding or because of the exercise by such employee on behalf of himself or herself or others of any right or responsibility afforded by this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 19.28 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) An employee who is a whistleblower and who as a result of being a whistleblower has been subjected to workplace reprisal or retaliatory action has a right to the protections, procedures, and remedies provided under chapter 49.60 RCW.
     (2) The identity of a whistleblower who reports, in good faith, to the department or to a political subdivision that regulates electrical installations, practices that may violate the provisions of this chapter or the rules adopted hereunder must remain confidential. The provisions of RCW 4.24.500 through 4.24.520, providing certain protections to persons who communicate to government agencies, apply to such reports.