12% Annual Interest Penalty for Wage Complaints?

Busy week of testimony for NFIB surrounding successful Small Business Day event

State Director Patrick Connor reports from Olympia on the small-business agenda for the legislative and political week ending March 17.

The week ending on St. Patrick’s Day, Friday, March 17, featured hearings on several bills of interest to NFIB as well as our 2023 Small Business Day at the Capitol.

Small Business Day

We greatly appreciate the dozens of small-business owners who took time away from their enterprises to join us for this annual event. The generosity of our sponsors allowed registration fees, snacks, and lunch to be complementary for participants.

Event sponsors were America’s Phone Guys, Larson Financial Group LLC, and the Rock Point Oyster Co.

Guest speakers included Senate Minority Floor Leader Sen. Shelly Short, Senate Labor & Commerce Committee chair Sen. Karen Keiser, and Senate Labor & Commerce Committee ranking member Sen. Curtis King.

Our expert policy panelists included Carolyn Logue of CA Logue Public Affairs and Sophia Steele from the Associated Builders & Contractors of Western Washington.

And, of course, our partner organizations played a key role as well: the Puyallup Sumner Chamber of Commerce and American Rental Association.

Thank you all!

Environment

— HB 1589, limiting future expansion of natural gas lines, was heard in the Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee on St. Patrick’s Day. It has not yet been scheduled for executive action. NFIB opposes the bill.

Health Care

— HB 1357, modernizing prior authorization processes, was heard in the Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee on March 16. It has not yet been scheduled for executive action. NFIB supports the bill.

Labor

— HB 1068, allowing independent medical exams to be videotaped, was heard in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee where NFIB testified opposed to the bill. The bill has been scheduled for executive action on March 23.

— HB 1106, expanding unemployment insurance benefits for workers voluntarily quitting due to shift changes impacting child- or elder-care, or to care for their own or a family member’s health condition, was heard in the Senate Labor Committee and is also scheduled for executive action March 23. NFIB opposes the bill.

— HB 1197, allowing psychologists to be attending providers for workers’ compensation PTSD claims by first responders, is scheduled for executive session on March 21. The Senate Labor Committee previously heard the companion bill, SB 5310, so is not holding a public hearing on the House version. NFIB opposes the bill.

— HB 1217, establishing a 12% annual interest penalty for wage complaints and forming a workgroup to study how other states handle wage claims, is also scheduled for executive action on March 23. NFIB opposes the bill.

— HB 1320, authorizing workers to sue over personnel file disputes, was heard in the Senate Labor Committee on March 16 and is scheduled for executive action on March 23. NFIB opposes the bill.

— HB 1491, limiting jobsite searches of workers’ private vehicles, was also heard in the Senate Labor Committee on March 16 and is scheduled for executive action March 23. NFIB supports the bill.

— SB 5110, authorizing workers to sue employers for various alleged workplace violations, is scheduled for executive action in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee on March 24. NFIB opposes the bill.

— SB 5123, prohibiting pre-employment screening of applicants for cannabis use, is scheduled for executive action in the House Labor Committee on March 21. NFIB opposes the bill.

— SB 5217, ergonomics, had executive action taken on March 17. NFIB opposes the bill. We also deployed an action alert on Small Business Day asking members to contact their state representatives and express opposition to the bill.

— SB 5320, modifying the hours-worked requirements to sit for journey-level electrical examinations, will be heard in the House Labor Committee on March 22. NFIB has signed in opposed to the bill.

— SB 5454, making PTSD a presumptive illness for nurses under the state’s workers’ compensation system, is scheduled for executive action on March 24 in the House Labor Committee. NFIB opposes expanding presumptive determinations in workers’ comp claims.

Regulatory

— HB 1392, Right to Repair, will be heard in the Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee on March 22. NFIB intends to testify in support of the bill. An action alert was deployed on Small Business Day asking members to contact Senators asking them to join us in supporting the bill.

— HB 1534, homeowner recovery fund and contractor bond increase, will be heard in the Senate Labor Committee on March 20. NFIB joins the rest of the business community in support of this bill.

— HB 1742, business licensing and unclaimed property penalty waivers, was heard in the Senate Law & Justice Committee on March 16 and is scheduled for executive action March 22. NFIB supports the bill.

Wednesday, March 29, is the deadline for policy committees to approve bills from the opposite chamber and advance them to either their respective Rules Committee or fiscal committee for those with a budgetary impact.

Past Weekly Reports and Related Information