FINAL BILL REPORT

SHB 445

                                   C 2 L 87

BYHouse Committee on Commerce & Labor (originally sponsored by Representatives Wang, Jacobsen, Sayan, R. King, Lux, Wineberry, Brekke, Fisher, Niemi, Leonard, P. King, Dellwo, Cole, Basich, Heavey, Unsoeld and Todd)

Authorizing unemployment compensation for certain locked-out workers.

House Committe on Commerce & Labor

Senate Committee on Commerce & Labor

SYNOPSIS AS ENACTED

BACKGROUND:

An employee who is unemployed due to a stoppage of work that exists because of a labor dispute at the employee's workplace is disqualified from receiving unemployment compensation benefits.  The Washington State Supreme Court has held that the term "labor dispute" includes the lockout of employees by an employer when the lockout results from a controversy over wages, hours, work requirements, fringe benefits, working conditions or other terms of employment.

The disqualification from benefits does not apply if the employee is not directly interested in the labor dispute and does not belong to a grade or class of workers that are directly interested in the dispute.

SUMMARY:

Until December 27, 1987, an employee is not disqualified from receiving unemployment compensation benefits if the unemployment is due to a lockout by the employer, unless the lockout is called by members of a multi-employer bargaining unit after one employer has been struck as a result of the multi-employer bargaining process.  For an employee to qualify for benefits, the employee's collective bargaining agent must have notified the employer that the employees are willing to return to work, pending the ratification of a new collective bargaining agreement under the terms of the employer's last offer prior to the lockout.  However, the employees are not required to be willing to return to work if the last offer represented a substantial deterioration of the terms and conditions of employment that existed prior to the expiration of the last collective bargaining agreement.  There is a four-week waiting period before benefits may be paid to qualified employees.

Benefits paid to an employee due to a nondisqualifying lockout for weeks of unemployment prior to the act's effective date are not charged to the experience rating account of any base year employer.

The Employment Security Department is directed to report the number of claimants receiving benefits and the total amount of benefits paid under the act to the Commerce and Labor committees of the Senate and House of Representatives by January 1, 1989.

Retrospective application to November 16, 1986, is specified.

VOTES ON FINAL PASSAGE:

      House 61  36

      Senate    26    23 (Senate amended)

      House 62  34 (House concurred)

EFFECTIVE:February 20, 1987