HOUSE BILL REPORT

SHB 1261

BYHouse Committee on Commerce & Labor (originally sponsored by Representatives Cole, Leonard and Sayan; by request of Director of Labor and Industries)

Revising procedures concerning violation of the industrial welfare laws.

House Committe on Commerce & Labor

Majority Report:  The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (9)

      Signed by Representatives Vekich, Chair; Cole, Vice Chair; Jones, R. King, Leonard, Prentice, Smith, Walker and Wolfe.

House Staff:Chris Cordes (786-7117)

AS PASSED HOUSE FEBRUARY 8, 1989

BACKGROUND:

The industrial welfare law authorizes the Department of Labor and Industries to set employment standards for Washington workers.  The standards include employment recordkeeping requirements, rest and meal break standards and other wage and hour requirements.  An employer who violates an industrial welfare standard is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to a fine of not less than $25 or more than $1,000.

SUMMARY:

The director of the Department of Labor and Industries is authorized to issue citations to employers for violations of the industrial welfare act.  If the violation is not abated after a second inspection, the employer is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $500.  For repeated violations, the employer is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for each day of violation.

An employer who violates the posting requirements of the industrial welfare law is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $100. Any person who gives advance notice of an inspection without the director's authority is subject to a penalty of not more than $1,000.

Civil penalties must be deposited in the general fund.

Any person aggrieved by an action of the department in enforcing the industrial welfare law may appeal to the director.  After a hearing, the director must issue a final order, which may be appealed to superior court in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act.

An employer who is convicted of a second or repeated misdemeanor for violations of the industrial welfare law is subject to a fine of not more than $5,000 or imprisonment for up to six months, or both.

The bill's penalty provisions do not apply to the family care law.

If any provision of the act is held invalid, the remainder of the act is not affected.

Fiscal Note:      Requested January 23, 1989.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Mark McDermott, Department of Labor and Industries.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    The only existing penalty for violating the industrial welfare law is a criminal penalty.  Civil penalty authority is needed to ensure efficient administration of enforcement activities.  The civil penalty provisions of the bill allow employers an opportunity to abate any violation before a penalty is imposed.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.