H-4368 _______________________________________________

SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1155

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State of Washington 50th Legislature 1988 Regular Session

By House Committee on Trade & Economic Development (originally sponsored by Representatives Vekich, Schoon, Kremen, P. King and Basich)

Read first time 1/29/88 and passed to Committee on Rules.

AN ACT Relating to reducing underemployment in the state economy; creating new sections; making an appropriation; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature recognizes that the sudden and severe shifts in the economic base of the state's communities, industries, and employment base have led to certain changes in employment practices in the state which have reduced the quality of life of employed citizens. The growth in part-time employment and contracted employment has increased the flexibility of employers in the state in regard to hiring and employment practices, but has also resulted in situations in which employees working part-time for economic reasons and contracted employees must respond to employer requirements in regard to terms and hours of employment which reduce their wages, benefits, and security. The increase in part-time and temporary employment in the state, combined with the continued economic hardships experienced in the state's distressed areas, result in the need for the state to study the problems associated with underemployment and possible legislative responses to them.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) The department of employment security shall undertake a study of underemployment in the state and of the policy issues associated with it. The study shall include an examination of:

(a) The extent and seriousness of underemployment;

(b) The character of underemployment, and methods of distinguishing those situations in which less-than-full-time employment reflects an inadequate availability of full-time employment from those in which such employment reflects needs for flexibility on the part of the work force; and

(c) The degree to which underemployment is concentrated in the workforce, including its concentration in economically distressed areas, by race or ethnicity, and by gender.

(2) The department shall:

(a) Conduct the study required under this act using information from the employer tax and wage file, the benefit assistance file, and the continuous wage or benefit history file, consistent with state confidentiality requirements;

(b) Examine the feasibility of modifying these files and related data collection processes to ensure that supplemental information is available on an ongoing basis to monitor and study underemployment in the state economy;

(d) Report on the cost and feasibility of making further modifications, including the costs of data processing, data analysis, and adding legal requirements related to reporting of information by employers, employees, and clients of the agency.

(3) The department of employment security shall, in the performance of this study, enlist the cooperation of the department of trade and economic development, the department of community development, the state economic development board, and other relevant state agencies and programs.

(4) The department of employment security shall report the findings of this study to the legislature no later than January 1, 1989.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The sum of eighty-five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the federal interest payment fund to the department of employment security for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, to carry out the purposes of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.