Several more HR & labor relations bills of interest survived cutoff and are on the week 10 committee action calendar. We review some of those bills below.

Ergonomic injuries rules

SB 5217 repeals I-841 (the 2003 initiative banning ergonomics regulations to prevent musculoskeletal injuries) and permits L&I to adopt rules regarding musculoskeletal injuries, up to one set of rules per year per industry or risk class with musculoskeletal workers compensation claims rate at least two times the state average over a five-year period. The bill includes limits on L&I’s rulemaking authority to prevent rapid adoption of rules in industries that didn’t previously have them and requires L&I to consider options to allow employers to demonstrate alternative control methods. L&I would also be required to convene an advisory committee of impacted employers and workers when developing rules for an industry or rate class.

Cannabis use & hiring

SB 5123 prohibits employers from “discriminating against a person in the initial hiring” for the job candidate’s off-the-job, out-of-the-workplace cannabis use or for failing an employer-required drug test for cannabis. It also provides several exemptions from the cannabis discrimination ban, including exemptions for positions that require a federal background check, “safety sensitive” positions where impairment presents a substantial risk of death, and maintaining employer rights and obligations to maintain a drug and alcohol-free workplace. We last wrote about the bill here after it passed the Senate.

PFML premiums

SB 5286 adopts the unanimous recommendations of the PFML premiums task force and changes the formula used for calculating PFML premiums to create a 3 month reserve fund, raises the premiums cap to 1.2%, and makes other changes to help the PFML program avoid the persistent solvency issues its faced over the past year. The bill passed out of the Senate on February 1 with a unanimous vote. We last wrote about the bill here and here.

Flexible work for police

SB 5424 allows part-time officers to participate in the LEOFF 2 pension system and exercise full mutual aid police powers as either general or limited authority peace officers. It also allows law enforcement agencies to adopt flexible work policies for police, including allowing less than full time work or on alternative schedules, supplement peak hours with part-time officers, and can require flexible work officers to meet certain experience or training thresholds. Flexible work policies can’t reduce the number of full-time officers employed and can’t alter department collective bargaining agreements or the duty to bargain. Full-time and part-time officers must be considered part of the same bargaining unit. AWC is supportive of this policy change.

Dates to remember

SB 5217, SB 5123, and SB 5286 are scheduled for a public hearing in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee on Tuesday, March 14 at 10:30 am. SB 5217 and SB 5286 are also scheduled for committee votes on Friday, March 17 at 10:30 am.

SB 5424 is scheduled for public hearing on Monday, March 13 in the House Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry Committee at 1:30 pm.