BILL REQ. #: S-4880.1
State of Washington | 59th Legislature | 2006 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/03/06.
AN ACT Relating to family and medical leave; amending RCW 49.78.010 and 49.78.020; adding new sections to chapter 49.78 RCW; creating a new section; repealing RCW 49.78.005, 49.78.030, 49.78.040, 49.78.050, 49.78.060, 49.78.070, 49.78.080, 49.78.100, 49.78.110, 49.78.120, 49.78.130, 49.78.140, 49.78.150, 49.78.160, 49.78.170, 49.78.180, 49.78.190, and 49.78.200; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 49.78.010 and 1989 1st ex.s. c 11 s 1 are each amended
to read as follows:
The legislature finds that the demands of the workplace and of
families need to be balanced to promote family stability and economic
security. ((Changes in)) Workplace leave policies are desirable to
accommodate changes in the work force such as rising numbers of dual-career couples ((and)), working single parents, and an aging
population. In addition, given the mobility of American society, many
people no longer have available community or family support networks
and therefore need additional flexibility in the workplace. The
legislature declares it to be in the public interest to provide
reasonable ((family leave upon the birth or adoption of a child and to
care for a child under eighteen years old with a terminal)) leave for
medical reasons, for the birth or placement of a child, and for the
care of a family member who has a serious health condition.
Sec. 2 RCW 49.78.020 and 1996 c 178 s 14 are each amended to read
as follows:
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in
this section apply throughout this chapter.
(1) "Child" means a biological ((or)), adopted, or foster child,
((or)) a stepchild, ((living with the employee)) a legal ward, or a
child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is: (a) Under
eighteen years of age; or (b) eighteen years of age or older and
incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.
(2) "Department" means the department of labor and industries.
(3) "Director" means the director of the department.
(4)(a) "Employee" means a person ((other than an independent
contractor employed by an employer on a continuous basis for the
previous fifty-two weeks for at least thirty-five hours per week)) who
has been employed: (i) For at least twelve months by the employer with
respect to whom leave is requested under section 3 of this act; and
(ii) for at least one thousand two hundred fifty hours of service with
the employer during the previous twelve-month period.
(b) "Employee" does not mean a person who is employed at a worksite
at which the employer as defined in (a) of this subsection employs less
than fifty employees if the total number of employees employed by that
employer within seventy-five miles of that worksite is less than fifty.
(((4))) (5) "Employer" means: (a) Any person, firm, corporation,
partnership, business trust, legal representative, or other business
entity which engages in any business, industry, profession, or activity
in this state and includes any unit of local government including, but
not limited to, a county, city, town, municipal corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, or political subdivision, which (((i) employed
a daily average of one hundred or more employees during the last
calendar quarter at the place where the employee requesting leave
reports for work, or (ii) employed a daily average of one hundred or
more employees during the last calendar quarter within a twenty mile
radius of the place where the employee requesting leave reports for
work, where the employer maintains a central hiring location and
customarily transfers employees among workplaces; and)) employs fifty
or more employees for each working day during each of twenty or more
calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year; (b) the
state, state institutions, and state agencies; and (c) any unit of
local government including, but not limited to, a county, city, town,
municipal corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, or political
subdivision.
(((5) "Family leave" means leave from employment to care for a
newborn or newly adopted child under the age of six or a child under
eighteen years old with a terminal health condition, as provided in RCW
49.78.030.))
(6) "Employment benefits" means all benefits provided or made
available to employees by an employer, including group life insurance,
health insurance, disability insurance, sick leave, annual leave,
educational benefits, and pensions except benefits that are provided by
a practice or written policy of an employer or through an employee
benefit plan as defined in 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1002(3).
(7) "Family member" means a child, parent, or spouse of an
employee.
(8) "Health care provider" means: (a) A person licensed as a
physician under chapter 18.71 RCW or an osteopathic physician and
surgeon under chapter 18.57 RCW; (b) a person licensed as an advanced
registered nurse practitioner under chapter 18.79 RCW; or (c) any other
person determined by the director to be capable of providing health
care services.
(((7))) (9) "Intermittent leave" is leave taken in separate blocks
of time due to a single qualifying reason.
(10) "Leave for a family member's serious health condition" means
leave as described in section 3(1)(c) of this act.
(11) "Leave for the birth or placement of a child" means leave as
described in section 3(1) (a) or (b) of this act.
(12) "Leave for the employee's serious health condition" means
leave as described in section 3(1)(d) of this act.
(13) "Parent" means ((a biological or adoptive parent, or a
stepparent)) the biological or adoptive parent of an employee or an
individual who stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee
was a child.
(((8))) (14) "Period of incapacity" means an inability to work,
attend school, or perform other regular daily activities because of the
serious health condition, treatment of that condition or recovery from
it, or subsequent treatment in connection with such inpatient care.
(15) "Reduced leave schedule" means ((leave scheduled for fewer
than an employee's usual number of hours or days per workweek)) a leave
schedule that reduces the usual number of hours per workweek, or hours
per workday, of an employee.
(((9) "Terminal health condition" means a condition caused by
injury, disease, or illness, that, within reasonable medical judgment,
is incurable and will produce death within the period of leave to which
the employee is entitled.))
(16)(a) "Serious health condition" means an illness, injury,
impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves:
(i) Inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical
care facility, including any period of incapacity; or
(ii) Continuing treatment by a health care provider. A serious
health condition involving continuing treatment by a health care
provider includes any one or more of the following:
(A) A period of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar
days, and any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity relating to
the same condition, that also involves:
(I) Treatment two or more times by a health care provider, by a
nurse or physician's assistant under direct supervision of a health
care provider, or by a provider of health care services under orders
of, or on referral by, a health care provider; or
(II) Treatment by a health care provider on at least one occasion
which results in a regimen of continuing treatment under the
supervision of the health care provider;
(B) Any period of incapacity due to pregnancy, or for prenatal
care;
(C) Any period of incapacity or treatment for such incapacity due
to a chronic serious health condition. A chronic serious health
condition is one which:
(I) Requires periodic visits for treatment by a health care
provider, or by a nurse or physician's assistant under direct
supervision of a health care provider;
(II) Continues over an extended period of time, including recurring
episodes of a single underlying condition; and
(III) May cause episodic rather than a continuing period of
incapacity;
(D) A period of incapacity which is permanent or long-term due to
a condition for which treatment may not be effective. The employee or
family member must be under the continuing supervision of, but need not
be receiving active treatment by, a health care provider; or
(E) Any period of absence to receive multiple treatments, including
any period of recovery from the treatments, by a health care provider
or by a provider of health care services under orders of, or on
referral by, a health care provider, either for restorative surgery
after an accident or other injury, or for a condition that would likely
result in a period of incapacity of more than three consecutive
calendar days in the absence of medical intervention or treatment, such
as cancer, severe arthritis, or kidney disease.
(b) Treatment for purposes of (a) of this subsection includes, but
is not limited to, examinations to determine if a serious health
condition exists and evaluations of the condition. Treatment does not
include routine physical examinations, eye examinations, or dental
examinations. Under (a)(ii)(A)(II) of this subsection, a regimen of
continuing treatment includes, but is not limited to, a course of
prescription medication or therapy requiring special equipment to
resolve or alleviate the health condition. A regimen of continuing
treatment that includes taking over-the-counter medications, such as
aspirin, antihistamines, or salves, or bed-rest, drinking fluids,
exercise, and other similar activities that can be initiated without a
visit to a health care provider, is not, by itself, sufficient to
constitute a regimen of continuing treatment for purposes of this
chapter.
(c) Conditions for which cosmetic treatments are administered are
not "serious health conditions" unless inpatient hospital care is
required or unless complications develop. Unless complications arise,
the common cold, the flu, ear aches, upset stomach, minor ulcers,
headaches other than migraine, routine dental or orthodontia problems,
and periodontal disease are examples of conditions that do not meet the
definition of a "serious health condition" and do not qualify for leave
under this chapter. Restorative dental or plastic surgery after an
injury or removal of cancerous growths are serious health conditions
provided all the other conditions of this section are met. Mental
illness resulting from stress or allergies may be serious health
conditions provided all the other conditions of this section are met.
(d) Substance abuse may be a serious health condition if the
conditions of this section are met. However, leave may only be taken
for treatment for substance abuse by a health care provider or by a
provider of health care services upon referral by a health care
provider. Absence from work because of the employee's use of the
substance, rather than for treatment, does not qualify for leave under
this chapter.
(e) Absences attributable to incapacity under (a)(ii)(B) or (C) of
this subsection qualify for leave under this chapter even though the
employee or the immediate family member does not receive treatment from
a health care provider during the absence, and even if the absence does
not last more than three days.
(17) "Spouse" means a husband or wife, as the case may be.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
(a) Because of the birth of a child of the employee and in order to
care for the child;
(b) Because of the placement of a child with the employee for
adoption or foster care;
(c) In order to care for a family member of the employee, if the
family member has a serious health condition; or
(d) Because of a serious health condition that makes the employee
unable to perform the functions of the position of the employee.
(2) The entitlement to leave for the birth or placement of a child
expires at the end of the twelve-month period beginning on the date of
such birth or placement.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
(b) Leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave
schedule when medically necessary for medical treatment of a serious
health condition by or under the supervision of a health care provider,
or for recovery from treatment or recovery from a serious health
condition. It may also be taken to provide care or psychological
comfort to an immediate family member with a serious health condition.
(i) Intermittent leave may be taken for a serious health condition
that requires treatment by a health care provider periodically, rather
than for one continuous period of time, and may include leave of
periods from an hour or more to several weeks.
(ii) Intermittent or reduced schedule leave may be taken for
absences where the employee or family member is incapacitated or unable
to perform the essential functions of the position because of a chronic
serious health condition even if he or she does not receive treatment
by a health care provider.
(c) There is no limit on the size of an increment of leave when an
employee takes intermittent leave or leave on a reduced leave schedule.
However, an employer may limit leave increments to the shortest period
of time that the employer's payroll system uses to account for absences
or use of leave, provided it is one hour or less.
(d) The taking of leave intermittently or on a reduced leave
schedule under this section may not result in a reduction in the total
amount of leave to which the employee is entitled under section 3 of
this act beyond the amount of leave actually taken.
(2) If an employee requests intermittent leave, or leave on a
reduced leave schedule, for a family member's serious health condition
or the employee's serious health condition when the condition is
foreseeable based on planned medical treatment, the employer may
require such employee to transfer temporarily to an available
alternative position offered by the employer for which the employee is
qualified and that:
(a) Has equivalent pay and benefits; and
(b) Better accommodates recurring periods of leave than the regular
employment position of the employee.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
(2) If an employer provides paid leave for fewer than twelve
workweeks, the additional weeks of leave necessary to attain the twelve
workweeks of leave required under this chapter may be provided without
compensation.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
(2) If the necessity for leave for a family member's serious health
condition or the employee's serious health condition is foreseeable
based on planned medical treatment, the employee:
(a) Must make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment so as
not to disrupt unduly the operations of the employer, subject to the
approval of the health care provider of the employee or the health care
provider of the family member, as appropriate; and
(b) Must provide the employer with not less than thirty days'
notice, before the date the leave is to begin, of the employee's
intention to take leave for a family member's serious health condition
or the employee's serious health condition, except that if the date of
the treatment requires leave to begin in less than thirty days, the
employee must provide such notice as is practicable.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
(2) Certification provided under subsection (1) of this section is
sufficient if it states:
(a) The date on which the serious health condition commenced;
(b) The probable duration of the condition;
(c) The appropriate medical facts within the knowledge of the
health care provider regarding the condition;
(d)(i) For purposes of leave for a family member's serious health
condition, a statement that the employee is needed to care for the
family member and an estimate of the amount of time that such employee
is needed to care for the family member; and
(ii) For purposes of leave for the employee's serious health
condition, a statement that the employee is unable to perform the
functions of the position of the employee;
(e) In the case of certification for intermittent leave, or leave
on a reduced leave schedule, for planned medical treatment, the dates
on which the treatment is expected to be given and the duration of the
treatment;
(f) In the case of certification for intermittent leave, or leave
on a reduced leave schedule, for the employee's serious health
condition, a statement of the medical necessity for the intermittent
leave or leave on a reduced leave schedule, and the expected duration
of the intermittent leave or reduced leave schedule; and
(g) In the case of certification for intermittent leave, or leave
on a reduced leave schedule, for a family member's serious health
condition, a statement that the employee's intermittent leave or leave
on a reduced leave schedule is necessary for the care of the family
member who has a serious health condition, or will assist in their
recovery, and the expected duration and schedule of the intermittent
leave or reduced leave schedule.
(3) If the employer has reason to doubt the validity of the
certification provided under subsection (1) of this section for leave
for a family member's serious health condition or the employee's
serious health condition, the employer may require, at the expense of
the employer, that the employee obtain the opinion of a second health
care provider designated or approved by the employer concerning any
information certified under subsection (2) of this section for the
leave. The second health care provider may not be employed on a
regular basis by the employer.
(4) If the second opinion described in subsection (3) of this
section differs from the opinion in the original certification provided
under subsection (1) of this section, the employer may require, at the
expense of the employer, that the employee obtain the opinion of a
third health care provider designated or approved jointly by the
employer and the employee concerning the information certified under
subsection (2) of this section. The opinion of the third health care
provider concerning the information certified under subsection (2) of
this section is considered to be final and is binding on the employer
and the employee.
(5) The employer may require that the employee obtain subsequent
recertifications on a reasonable basis.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
(i) To be restored by the employer to the position of employment
held by the employee when the leave commenced; or
(ii) To be restored to an equivalent position with equivalent
employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment
at a workplace within twenty miles of the employee's workplace when
leave commenced.
(b) The taking of leave under section 3 of this act may not result
in the loss of any employment benefits accrued before the date on which
the leave commenced.
(c) Nothing in this section entitles any restored employee to:
(i) The accrual of any seniority or employment benefits during any
period of leave; or
(ii) Any right, benefit, or position of employment other than any
right, benefit, or position to which the employee would have been
entitled had the employee not taken the leave.
(d) As a condition of restoration under (a) of this subsection for
an employee who has taken leave for the employee's serious health
condition, the employer may have a uniformly applied practice or policy
that requires each such employee to receive certification from the
health care provider of the employee that the employee is able to
resume work, except that nothing in this subsection (1)(d) supersedes
a valid local law or a collective bargaining agreement that governs the
return to work of such employees.
(e) Nothing in this subsection (1) prohibits an employer from
requiring an employee on leave to report periodically to the employer
on the status and intention of the employee to return to work.
(2) An employer may deny restoration under subsection (1) of this
section to any salaried employee who is among the highest paid ten
percent of the employees employed by the employer within seventy-five
miles of the facility at which the employee is employed if:
(a) Denial is necessary to prevent substantial and grievous
economic injury to the operations of the employer;
(b) The employer notifies the employee of the intent of the
employer to deny restoration on such basis at the time the employer
determines that the injury would occur; and
(c) The leave has commenced and the employee elects not to return
to employment after receiving the notice.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
(a) Interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the
attempt to exercise, any right provided under this chapter; or
(b) Discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any
individual for opposing any practice made unlawful by this chapter.
(2) It is unlawful for any person to discharge or in any other
manner discriminate against any individual because the individual has:
(a) Filed any charge, or has instituted or caused to be instituted
any proceeding, under or related to this chapter;
(b) Given, or is about to give, any information in connection with
any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under this
chapter; or
(c) Testified, or is about to testify, in any inquiry or proceeding
relating to any right provided under this chapter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
Upon complaint by an employee, the director shall investigate to
determine if there has been compliance with this chapter and the rules
adopted under this chapter. If the investigation indicates that a
violation may have occurred, a hearing must be held in accordance with
chapter 34.05 RCW. The director must issue a written determination
including his or her findings after the hearing. A judicial appeal
from the director's determination may be taken in accordance with
chapter 34.05 RCW, with the prevailing party entitled to recover
reasonable costs and attorneys' fees.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
An employer who is found, in accordance with section 12 of this
act, to have violated a requirement of this chapter and the rules
adopted under this chapter, is subject to a civil penalty of not less
than one thousand dollars for each violation. Civil penalties must be
collected by the department and deposited into the family and medical
leave enforcement account.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
(a) For damages equal to:
(i) The amount of:
(A) Any wages, salary, employment benefits, or other compensation
denied or lost to such employee by reason of the violation; or
(B) In a case in which wages, salary, employment benefits, or other
compensation have not been denied or lost to the employee, any actual
monetary losses sustained by the employee as a direct result of the
violation, such as the cost of providing care, up to a sum equal to
twelve weeks of wages or salary for the employee;
(ii) The interest on the amount described in (a)(i) of this
subsection calculated at the prevailing rate; and
(iii) An additional amount as liquidated damages equal to the sum
of the amount described in (a)(i) of this subsection and the interest
described in (a)(ii) of this subsection, except that if an employer who
has violated section 11 of this act proves to the satisfaction of the
court that the act or omission which violated section 11 of this act
was in good faith and that the employer had reasonable grounds for
believing that the act or omission was not a violation of section 11 of
this act, the court may, in the discretion of the court, reduce the
amount of the liability to the amount and interest determined under
(a)(i) and (ii) of this subsection, respectively; and
(b) For such equitable relief as may be appropriate, including
employment, reinstatement, and promotion.
(2) An action to recover the damages or equitable relief prescribed
in subsection (1) of this section may be maintained against any
employer in any court of competent jurisdiction by any one or more
employees for and on behalf of:
(a) The employees; or
(b) The employees and other employees similarly situated.
(3) The court in such an action shall, in addition to any judgment
awarded to the plaintiff, allow reasonable attorneys' fees, reasonable
expert witness fees, and other costs of the action to be paid by the
defendant.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 18 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 19 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 20 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) Leave under this chapter and leave under the federal family and
medical leave act of 1993 (Act Feb. 5, 1993, P.L. 103-3, 107 Stat. 6)
is in addition to any leave for sickness or temporary disability
because of pregnancy or childbirth.
(2) Leave taken under this chapter must be taken concurrently with
any leave taken under the federal family and medical leave act of 1993
(Act Feb. 5, 1993, P.L. 103-3, 107 Stat. 6).
NEW SECTION. Sec. 21 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 22 A new section is added to chapter 49.78 RCW
to read as follows:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 23 The following acts or parts of acts are
each repealed:
(1) RCW 49.78.005 (Administration and enforcement of this chapter
to cease while federal family and medical leave act provides the same
or more family leave--Rights under RCW 49.78.070(1)(b) preserved--Enforcement) and 1997 c 16 s 1;
(2) RCW 49.78.030 (Requirements -- Limitation) and 1989 1st ex.s. c
11 s 3;
(3) RCW 49.78.040 (Notice to employer) and 1989 1st ex.s. c 11 s 4;
(4) RCW 49.78.050 (Requirements for confirmation -- Second opinion)
and 1989 1st ex.s. c 11 s 5;
(5) RCW 49.78.060 (Both parents with same employer) and 1989 1st
ex.s. c 11 s 6;
(6) RCW 49.78.070 (Employee employment rights -- Limitations) and
1989 1st ex.s. c 11 s 7;
(7) RCW 49.78.080 (Employee benefits) and 1989 1st ex.s. c 11 s 8;
(8) RCW 49.78.100 (Additional rights -- Remedies) and 1989 1st ex.s.
c 11 s 10;
(9) RCW 49.78.110 (Collective bargaining agreements -- Obligations
and rights not diminished) and 1989 1st ex.s. c 11 s 11;
(10) RCW 49.78.120 (Collective bargaining agreements -- Application
of chapter -- Grievance procedures) and 1989 1st ex.s. c 11 s 12;
(11) RCW 49.78.130 (Discrimination prohibited) and 1989 1st ex.s.
c 11 s 13;
(12) RCW 49.78.140 (Complaint -- Contents -- Notice -- Investigation) and
1989 1st ex.s. c 11 s 14;
(13) RCW 49.78.150 (Notice of infraction -- Contents) and 1989 1st
ex.s. c 11 s 15;
(14) RCW 49.78.160 (Notice of infraction -- Service) and 1989 1st
ex.s. c 11 s 16;
(15) RCW 49.78.170 (Notice of infraction -- State agencies) and 1989
1st ex.s. c 11 s 17;
(16) RCW 49.78.180 (Appeal -- Hearings -- Decisions -- Review -- Appeal of
final decision) and 1989 1st ex.s. c 11 s 18;
(17) RCW 49.78.190 (Penalties) and 1989 1st ex.s. c 11 s 19; and
(18) RCW 49.78.200 (Poster required) and 1989 1st ex.s. c 11 s 20.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 24 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.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 25 Captions used in this act are not any part
of the law.