H-1815              _______________________________________________

                                           SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 867

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By House Committee on Commerce & Labor (originally sponsored by Representatives Wang, Patrick, R. King, Sayan, Grimm, Walker, Locke, Winsley, P. King and Wineberry)

Read first time 2/16/87 and referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

AN ACT Relating to a program for business assistance and reemployment of the unemployed; adding a new chapter to Title 50 RCW; making an appropriation; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The employment security department shall establish a demonstration project to encourage the formation of cooperative labor-management programs to assist with local business and job retention programs. If feasible, the department may facilitate the formation of labor-management committees at one or more locations.  The functions of the labor- management committee may include: Developing and implementing a local business assistance and job retention program in cooperation with other nonprofit organizations addressing similar issues; providing assistance in job development and placement; and providing a forum for discussion of labor-management issues outside the scope of collective bargaining issues.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     The employment security department shall implement a reemployment bonus demonstration project to provide reemployment incentives for qualified unemployment compensation claimants if federal or private funding is available.  The reemployment bonus demonstration project shall provide for the payment of lump sum amounts to qualified unemployment compensation claimants who return to work within the time limits established by the department and who retain employment for a four-month period.  For the purposes of this section, a qualified unemployment compensation claimant is one who accepts the employment security department's invitation to participate in the reemployment bonus demonstration project and who subsequently fulfills the enrollment requirements established by the department for participation in the project.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     The employment security department shall develop a model to evaluate the effectiveness of the demonstration projects established in this chapter in retaining businesses, encouraging business growth and returning unemployed workers to employment.  The department shall report the results of the study to the commerce and labor committees of the senate and house of representatives, or to the appropriate successor committees, by the start of the 1989 legislative session.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     This act shall expire and the  demonstration projects shall cease to exist on June 30, 1989, unless extended by law for an additional fixed period of time.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.     Sections 1 through 4 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 50 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6.     There is appropriated one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to the employment security department or as much thereof as may be necessary, for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund for the purposes of this act.