HR, labor relations, and pensions had a fairly a quiet session

A few consequential bills made it through this legislative session, but it was mostly quiet on the HR, labor relations, and pensions front, especially after some higher-profile bills failed to make cutoffs.

HR & labor relations

Of the HR & labor relations legislation that made it through the gauntlet and became law, there were a few bills of note. SB 5778 prohibits employers from forcing employees to engage in employer-sponsored political or religious speech. AWC was able to get the bill modified before it passed to ensure that it wouldn’t interfere with city staff that work for elected officials who by necessity engage in political speech. Another bill, SB 5793, expanded Washington’s paid sick leave requirements to allow employees to take sick leave to care for more types of family members and in additional situations. The bill may put cities in the position of needing to decide who counts as an employee’s “family” when making sick leave decisions. HB 1905 expands the state’s Equal Pay & Opportunity Act to cover all protected classes, not just gender, in pay and employment advancement opportunities. Under SB 5808, local government 911 dispatchers will be able to pursue binding interest arbitration in the event of contract disputes.

Another bill that made it through the process is HB 2467, which adds benefits portability to the state’s new long-term care program, WA Cares Fund. Previously, eligible beneficiaries could only access benefits if they lived in Washington when they needed care, a major criticism of the program. However, Initiative 2124 will go to the ballot this fall and, if voters approve the measure, it may impact the overall solvency of the WA Cares Fund program by making the program voluntary.

AWC helped to successfully defend against several bills that would have posed problems for cities. SB 5924 would have imposed additional requirements and deadlines for cities to provide employment records to current and former employees, an obligation that cities already have. HB 1959 would have forced small employers (including small cities) to pay additional Paid Family and Medical Leave premiums, adding extra costs that they do not have now. Both of those bills died at the mid-session cutoff. Finally, AWC engaged late in the session on HB 1893 when it was amended in a way that could have required cities to pay unemployment benefits for illegally striking workers. The clock ran out on finding a compromise, and the bill failed to come to a floor vote. It will likely return next session.

Pensions

There were only a few bills on AWC’s radar in the pensions arena this session, all of which passed. With HB 1985, the Legislature once again passed a one-time, ad hoc 3% cost-of-living adjustment for PERS 1 retirees, capped at $110/month. The bill is expected to cost local governments an additional $105 million over 10 years, despite recent efforts in 2023 to reduce the unfunded liability surcharge that pays for new PERS 1 COLAs.

Other pensions bills that passed addressed a fairly narrow suite of issues. SB 6263 increases the funeral benefit for legacy pre-LEOFF city firefighters to align with the long-time funeral benefit for pre-LEOFF city police. SB 6197 makes a smattering of changes to the LEOFF 2 program, including changes to death benefits, making employers liable for certain benefits overpayments, expanding the definition of “firefighter” to cover additional staff, allowing certain denied PTSD disability claimants to reapply for benefits, and allowing the LOEFF 2 Board greater flexibility over its own staff.

Keep an eye out for the proposal around unemployment benefits for striking workers to return in 2025, as well as more on creating a permanent COLA for PERS 1 retirees.