H-3438              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 2363

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1990 Regular Session

By Representatives R. King, Prentice, Scott, Vekich, Cole, Wang, Jones and Basich

Read first time 1/10/90 and referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

AN ACT Relating to hours of labor; and adding new sections to chapter 49.28 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     For the purposes of sections 2 and 3 of this act, the following definitions apply, unless the context requires otherwise:

          (1) "Department" means the department of labor and industries.

          (2) "Employer" includes any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, business trust, legal representative, or other business entity that engages in any business, industry, profession, or activity in this state and employs one or more employees, and includes charitable organizations and the state, counties, cities, and all municipal corporations, public corporations, and political subdivisions of the state.

          (3) "Employee" includes any person employed by an employer, except:

          (a) Persons employed in bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacities and exempt under chapter 49.46 RCW; and (b) Railroad employees covered by the Hours of Service Act, 45 U.S.C., Sec. 61 through 66.

          (4) "Work day" means a fixed and regularly recurring period of twenty-four hours, beginning at the same time each calendar day.

          (5) "Work week" means a fixed and regularly recurring period of seven consecutive twenty-four hour periods, beginning on any day of the week and any hour of the day.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no employer may require an employee to work more than eight hours in any work day or more than forty hours in any work week.

          (2) An employee may be required to work more than eight hours in any work day if:

          (a) At least ten hours have elapsed following the completion of the employee's last scheduled work period and the last scheduled work period consisted of no more than eight hours in the work day;

          (b) The employer's work week is based on four ten-hour work days in a work week; or

          (c) The employee's total hours of employment in the work week do not exceed thirty hours.

!ixHowever, in no case may the employee's work period be extended involuntarily more than two hours beyond the normally required work period nor may the employee be required to work more than forty hours in any work week.

          (3) Subsections (1) and (2) of this section do not prohibit an employee from voluntarily agreeing to work more than eight hours in any work day or more than forty hours in any work week.  Unless exempt under RCW 49.46.130, the employee shall be compensated as required under RCW 49.46.130 for work beyond forty hours in the work week.

          (4) This section does not apply to work performed in emergency situations endangering public health and safety, which include, but are not limited to, fires, natural disasters, civil disorders, utility interruptions, services required by the armed forces of the United States, or other situations determined by the department to be emergencies.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     No employer may discharge or in any manner discriminate against any employee because the employee exercises the rights provided by section 2 of this act.  Any employee who believes that he or she has been discriminated against in violation of this section may proceed as provided in RCW 49.17.160.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     Sections 1 through 3 of this act are each added to chapter 49.28 RCW.