BILL REQ. #:  S-1112.1 

Read first time 02/03/2003.   Referred to Committee on Commerce & Trade.

     AN ACT Relating to priority activities in extended benefit periods; amending RCW 50.20.240; and creating a new section.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 50.20.240 and 2002 c 8 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) To ensure that following the initial application for benefits, an individual is actively engaged in searching for work, ((effective July 1, 1999,)) the ((employment security)) department shall implement a job search monitoring program. Except for those individuals with employer attachment or union referral, individuals who qualify for unemployment compensation under RCW 50.20.050(2)(d), and individuals in commissioner-approved training, an individual who has received five or more weeks of benefits under this title must provide evidence of seeking work, as directed by the commissioner or the commissioner's agents, for each week beyond five in which a claim is filed. The evidence must demonstrate contacts with at least three employers per week or documented in-person job search activity at the local reemployment center. In developing the requirements for the job search monitoring program, the commissioner or the commissioner's agents shall utilize an existing advisory committee having equal representation of employers and workers.
     (2) During any extended benefit period as defined in RCW 50.22.010, the department may: (a) Suspend the job search monitoring program under subsection (1) of this section; and (b) shift funding and staff from job search monitoring activities to eligibility determination and benefit payment activities.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   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 inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict, and the finding or determination does not affect the operation of the remainder of this act. Rules adopted under this act must 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.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.