BILL REQ. #:  H-4032.1 

READ FIRST TIME 01/31/12.   

     AN ACT Relating to drayage truck operators; adding a new section to chapter 49.12 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 49.17 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 49.46 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 49.48 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 49.60 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 50.04 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that under applicable legal standards, drayage truck operators are covered workers for purposes of various employment protections. The legislature also finds that employers of drayage truck operators nonetheless classify drayage truck operators as uncovered independent contractors. In addition to violating the law, this misclassification results in operators working in unsafe conditions and without the benefit of such protections as overtime wages and unemployment benefits. Misclassification is also unfair to law-abiding businesses and results in lost revenue to the state. The legislature further finds that current enforcement mechanisms have proved inadequate and that most drayage truck operators remain improperly classified. By defining drayage drivers as statutory covered employees, the legislature intends to enforce current law, avoid litigation, increase safety to drivers and the public, insure drivers receive employment protections to which they are entitled, and facilitate collection of taxes. The legislature intends that the statutory inclusion of drayage drivers under the employment standards in this act is not evidence of legislative intent to exclude drayage drivers from the protection of other employment standards.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 49.12 RCW to read as follows:
     A drayage truck operator is an employee and the motor carrier that directly engages the services of the drayage truck operator is the employer for purposes of this chapter. For purposes of this section, "drayage truck operator" means the driver of any in-use on-road vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than thirty-three thousand pounds operating on or transgressing through a port that handles in excess of one million twenty foot equivalent units of containerized cargo or an intermodal rail yard property within fifty miles of such a port, for the purpose of loading, unloading, or transporting containerized cargo.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 49.17 RCW to read as follows:
     A drayage truck operator is an employee and the motor carrier that directly engages the services of the drayage truck operator is the employer for purposes of this chapter. For purposes of this section, "drayage truck operator" means the driver of any in-use on-road vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than thirty-three thousand pounds operating on or transgressing through a port that handles in excess of one million twenty foot equivalent units of containerized cargo or an intermodal rail yard property within fifty miles of such a port, for the purpose of loading, unloading, or transporting containerized cargo.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 49.46 RCW to read as follows:
     A drayage truck operator is an employee and the motor carrier that directly engages the services of the drayage truck operator is the employer for purposes of this chapter. For purposes of this section, "drayage truck operator" means the driver of any in-use on-road vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than thirty-three thousand pounds operating on or transgressing through a port that handles in excess of one million twenty foot equivalent units of containerized cargo or an intermodal rail yard property within fifty miles of such a port, for the purpose of loading, unloading, or transporting containerized cargo.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 49.48 RCW to read as follows:
     A drayage truck operator is an employee and the motor carrier that directly engages the services of the drayage truck operator is the employer for purposes of this chapter. For purposes of this section, "drayage truck operator" means the driver of any in-use on-road vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than thirty-three thousand pounds operating on or transgressing through a port that handles in excess of one million twenty foot equivalent units of containerized cargo or an intermodal rail yard property within fifty miles of such a port, for the purpose of loading, unloading, or transporting containerized cargo.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   A new section is added to chapter 49.60 RCW to read as follows:
     A drayage truck operator is an employee and the motor carrier that directly engages the services of the drayage truck operator is the employer for purposes of this chapter. For purposes of this section, "drayage truck operator" means the driver of any in-use on-road vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than thirty-three thousand pounds operating on or transgressing through a port that handles in excess of one million twenty foot equivalent units of containerized cargo or an intermodal rail yard property within fifty miles of such a port, for the purpose of loading, unloading, or transporting containerized cargo.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   A new section is added to chapter 50.04 RCW to read as follows:
     Services performed by a drayage truck operator are considered services in employment, not subject to RCW 50.04.140. For purposes of this section, "drayage truck operator" means the driver of any in-use on-road vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than thirty-three thousand pounds operating on or transgressing through a port that handles in excess of one million twenty foot equivalent units of containerized cargo or an intermodal rail yard property within fifty miles of such a port, for the purpose of loading, unloading, or transporting containerized cargo.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   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. 9   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, the conflicting part of this act is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict and with respect to the agencies directly affected, and this finding does not affect the operation of the remainder of this act in its application to the agencies concerned. Rules adopted under this act must meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state.