by
<a href="mailto:loganb@awcnet.org">Logan Bahr</a>, <a href="mailto:brandona@awcnet.org">Brandon Anderson</a> | May 20, 2019
With an increase in their ranks in both the House and Senate, Democrats used their majorities to pass several major bills related to state labor, human resources and pension laws.
With an increase in their ranks in both the House and Senate, Democrats used their majorities to pass several major bills related to state labor, human resources and pension laws. City leadership should be aware that these new laws could have direct impacts on cities and their policies.
With the passage of I-1000 by the Legislature, state and local governments will now be allowed to implement affirmative action-related policies or procedures to encourage diversity in public employment, higher education, and contracting. HB 1575, relating to union dues deductions, provides clarity on how public employees and employers must respond to union dues deductions and revocations. HB 1913, the product of months-long negotiations among AWC, counties, and first-responder advocacy groups, creates new first-responder workers’ compensation presumptions and establishes a new advisory committee on occupational disease presumptions within the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I). Finally, HB 2144 repealed the state’s obligations to fund the Public Safety Enhancement Account and transferred $300 million out of the LEOFF 2 Law Enforcement Officers’ and Firefighters’ Plan 2 (LEOFF 2) pension system to fund benefit improvements.
The interim will be filled with continued implementation efforts by the state to ensure the Paid Family and Medical Leave program will be ready for benefit payments on January 1, 2020. There will also likely be additional scrutiny of HB 2144 concerning the LEOFF 2 pension system, and the new requirements set forth in HB 1575 concerning union dues. Stay on top of these issues with our Legislative Bulletin emails which will be sent out monthly during the interim.
HR & labor relations and pension bills
|
Bill #
|
Brief description
|
Status
|
|
I-1000
|
Allows the state and local governments to create and implement affirmative action-related laws and programs.
|
Law; effective July 28, 2019
|
|
HB 1399
|
PFML regulatory clean-up bill.
|
Law; effective July 28, 2019
|
|
HB 1575
|
Concerning union dues and fees.
|
Law; effective July 28, 2019
|
|
HB 1696
|
Concerning wage and salary information.
|
Law; effective July 28, 2019
|
|
HB 1909
|
Concerning the confidentiality of industrial insurance claim records.
|
Law; effective July 28, 2019
|
|
HB 1913
|
Grants occupational disease presumptions and creates an advisory committee on occupational disease presumptions.
|
Law; effective July 28, 2019
|
|
HB 1930
|
Concerning reasonable accommodation for the expression of breast milk in the workplace.
|
Law; effective July 28, 2019
|
|
HB 2020
|
Exempting the disclosure of names in employment investigation records.
|
Law; effective July 28, 2019
|
|
HB 2144
|
Concerning funding of law enforcement officers' and firefighters' plan 2 benefit improvements.
|
Law; effective May 13, 2019
|
|
SB 5175
|
Concerning firefighter safety.
|
Law; effective July 28, 2019
|
|
SB 5350
|
Provides members of PERS, PSERS, and SERS an option to purchase an annuity from their respective retirement plan at the time of retirement.
|
Law; effective January 1, 2020
|
|
SB 5360
|
Changes the default retirement for new members of PERS, TRS, and SERS from Plan 3 to Plan 2.
|
Law; effective July 28, 2019
|
|
SB 5894
|
Clarifies that cities may continue to impose a pension levy even if all the pre-LEOFF beneficiaries are deceased; and requires that, if the levy is continued, revenue must be used to cover medical benefits for LEOFF 1 retirees.
|
Law; effective July 28, 2019
|
|
HB 1390
|
Providing a benefit increase to certain retirees of PERS and TRS Plan 1.
|
Did not pass
|
|
HB 1912
|
Increasing volunteer firefighter pension benefits and annual pension fees.
|
Did not pass
|
|
SB 5217
|
Concerning industrial insurance wage loss.
|
Did not pass
|
|
SB 5240
|
Authorizing the state investment board to invest the assets of the first-class cities' retirement systems.
|
Did not pass
|