5920-S

AN ACT Relating to unemployment insurance deductions; amending RCW 50.04.310, 50.20.130, and 50.20.050; and creating new sections.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 50.04.310 and 1984 c 134 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) An individual shall be deemed to be "unemployed" in any week during which the individual performs no services and with respect to which no remuneration is payable to the individual, or in any week of less than full time work, if the remuneration payable to the individual with respect to such week is less than one and ((~~one-third~~)) one-half times the individual's weekly benefit amount plus ((~~five~~)) fifteen dollars. The commissioner shall prescribe regulations applicable to unemployed individuals making such distinctions in the procedures as to such types of unemployment as the commissioner deems necessary.

(2) An individual shall be deemed not to be "unemployed" during any week which falls totally within a period during which the individual, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement or individual employment contract, is employed full time in accordance with a definition of full time contained in the agreement or contract, and for which compensation for full time work is payable. This subsection may not be applied retroactively to an individual who had no guarantee of work at the start of such period and subsequently is provided additional work by the employer.

Sec. 2. RCW 50.20.130 and 1983 1st ex.s. c 23 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:

If an eligible individual is available for work for less than a full week, he or she shall be paid his weekly benefit amount reduced by one-seventh of such amount for each day that he or she is unavailable for work: PROVIDED, That if he or she is unavailable for work for three days or more of a week, he or she shall be considered unavailable for the entire week.

Each eligible individual who is unemployed in any week shall be paid with respect to such week a benefit in an amount equal to his or her weekly benefit amount less ((~~seventy-five~~)) sixty-six and two-thirds percent of that part of the remuneration (if any) payable to him with respect to such week which is in excess of ((~~five~~)) fifteen dollars. Such benefit, if not a multiple of one dollar, shall be reduced to the next lower multiple of one dollar.

Sec. 3. RCW 50.20.050 and 1993 c 483 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) An individual shall be disqualified from benefits beginning with the first day of the calendar week in which he or she has left work voluntarily without good cause and thereafter for five calendar weeks and until he or she has obtained bona fide work and earned wages equal to five times his or her weekly benefit amount.

The disqualification shall continue if the work obtained is a mere sham to qualify for benefits and is not bona fide work. In determining whether work is of a bona fide nature, the commissioner shall consider factors including but not limited to the following:

(a) The duration of the work;

(b) The extent of direction and control by the employer over the work; and

(2) An individual shall not be considered to have left work voluntarily without good cause when:

(a) He or she has left work to accept a bona fide offer of bona fide work as described in subsection (1) of this section;

(b) The separation was because of the illness or disability of the claimant or the death, illness, or disability of a member of the claimant's immediate family if the claimant took all reasonable precautions, in accordance with any regulations that the commissioner may prescribe, to protect his or her employment status by having promptly notified the employer of the reason for the absence and by having promptly requested reemployment when again able to assume employment: PROVIDED, That these precautions need not have been taken when they would have been a futile act, including those instances when the futility of the act was a result of a recognized labor/management dispatch system; or

(c) He or she has left work to relocate for the spouse's employment that is outside the existing labor market area if the claimant remained employed as long as was reasonable prior to the move.

(3) In determining under this section whether an individual has left work voluntarily without good cause, the commissioner shall only consider work-connected factors such as the degree of risk involved to the individual's health, safety, and morals, the individual's physical fitness for the work, the individual's ability to perform the work, and such other work connected factors as the commissioner may deem pertinent, including state and national emergencies. Good cause shall not be established for voluntarily leaving work because of its distance from an individual's residence where the distance was known to the individual at the time he or she accepted the employment and where, in the judgment of the department, the distance is customarily traveled by workers in the individual's job classification and labor market, nor because of any other significant work factor which was generally known and present at the time he or she accepted employment, unless the related circumstances have so changed as to amount to a substantial involuntary deterioration of the work factor or unless the commissioner determines that other related circumstances would work an unreasonable hardship on the individual were he or she required to continue in the employment. The commissioner shall consider it an unreasonable hardship for an individual whose primary occupation is in permanent, full-time employment or who worked full-time hours in suitable employment to accept and remain in temporary or part-time employment when doing so interferes with his or her ability to seek or accept suitable full-time, permanent employment if the individual took all reasonable steps to obtain suitable permanent, full-time work with the employer before leaving the work. For purposes of this subsection, "full-time employment" means the customary hours worked per day or per week in the individual's occupation and labor market, and "temporary employment" means employment with an expected duration of three months or less.

(4) Subsections (1) and (3) of this section shall not apply to an individual whose marital status or domestic responsibilities cause him or her to leave employment. Such an individual shall not be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits beginning with the first day of the calendar week in which he or she left work and thereafter for five calendar weeks and until he or she has requalified, either by obtaining bona fide work and earning wages equal to five times his or her weekly benefit amount or by reporting in person to the department during ten different calendar weeks and certifying on each occasion that he or she is ready, able, and willing to immediately accept any suitable work which may be offered, is actively seeking work pursuant to customary trade practices, and is utilizing such employment counseling and placement services as are available through the department. This subsection does not apply to individuals covered by subsection (2) (b) or (c) of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. This act applies to weeks of unemployment beginning after January 1, 1995.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state or the eligibility of employers in this state for federal unemployment tax credits, the conflicting part of this act is hereby declared to be inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict, and such finding or determination shall not affect the operation of the remainder of this act. The rules under this act shall meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state or the granting of federal unemployment tax credits to employers in this state.