1410‑S AMH CONW CORD 3

SHB 1410 ‑ H AMD 502 WITHDRAWN 3/24/95

By Representative Conway

     On page 103, after line 5, insert the following:

     "NEW SECTION. Sec. 909.  CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS.   To ensure the economical and efficient administration and completion of state contracts,  agencies shall comply with the following requirements in procuring goods and services during the 1995-97 biennium:

     (1)(a) Contracting agencies shall not contract with employers that permanently replace lawfully striking employees.  No agency may enter into a contract for goods or services unless the contract includes a provision certifying that the contracting employer will not permanently replace lawfully striking employees.

     (b) Contracts awarded by an agency for goods and services shall be subject to termination in accordance with this section for violation of (a) of this subsection.

     (2)(a) The director of the department of labor and industries may investigate an organizational unit of an employer contracting with the state to determine whether the unit has permanently replaced lawfully striking workers.  The investigation shall be conducted in accordance with procedures established by the director.

     (b) The director shall receive and may investigate complaints by employees of any employer covered under (a) of this subsection where the complaints allege that lawfully striking employees have been permanently replaced.

     (3)(a) When the director of the department of labor and industries determines, after notice and an opportunity for hearing, that an employer contracting with the state has permanently replaced lawfully striking employees, the director may make a finding that is appropriate to terminate the contract.  The director shall transmit that finding to the head of any agency that contracts with the contractor.

     (b) The head of the contracting agency may object to the termination of a contract or contracts of a state contractor determined to have permanently replaced legally striking employees.  If the head of the agency so objects because termination of the contract would severely disrupt the operation of the agency to the detriment of state government or would not be in the public interest, he or she shall set forth the reasons for not terminating the contract or contracts in a response in writing to the director.  In that case, the contract shall not be terminated.  The head of the contracting agency shall report to the director and appropriate committees of the legislature at least annually regarding those contracts that have been terminated under this section.

     (4)(a)  When the director of the department of labor and industries determines that a contractor has permanently replaced lawfully striking employees, the director shall debar the contractor, thereby making the contractor ineligible to receive state contracts.  Agencies shall not solicit offers from, award contracts to, or consent to subcontracts with these contractors unless the head of the agency or his or her designee determines, in writing, that there is a compelling reason for such action.

     (b) Unless exceptional circumstances exist, the scope of the debarment is limited to those organizational units of a state contractor that the director finds to have permanently replaced lawfully striking workers.  The period of the debarment may not extend beyond the date when the labor dispute precipitating the permanent replacement of lawfully striking workers has been resolved, as determined by the director.

     (5) The director of the department of labor and industries shall publish, or cause to be published, in the Washington register, the names of contractors that have, in the judgment of the director, permanently replaced lawfully striking employees and have been the subject of debarment.

     (6)(a)  The director of the department of labor and industries shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of this section.  The director may adopt such rules as may be deemed necessary and appropriate to achieve the purposes of this section.

     (b)  Each agency awarding a contract for goods or services shall cooperate with the director and provide such information and assistance as the director may require in the performance of the director's functions under this section.

     (c)  The director may delegate any function or duty under this section to any employee of the department of labor and industries or to any other employee of an agency, with the consent of the head of the agency in which that employee serves.

     (7)  This section is not intended, and should not be construed, to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the state, its agencies, its officers, or its employees.  This section is not intended, however, to preclude review of final agency decisions in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW.

     (8) This section shall only apply to situations in which contractors have permanently replaced lawfully striking employees after the effective date of this section."

Renumber the sections consecutively and correct internal references accordingly.

EFFECT:  Adds provisions requiring agencies who procure goods or services by contract during the 1995-97 biennium to not contract with employers that permanently replace lawfully striking employees.  Contracts may be terminated if replacement of workers occurs and contractors are debarred from bidding until the labor dispute that precipitated the permanent replacement of workers has been resolved.