WHAT EVERY EMPLOYER WITH EMPLOYEES SHOULD KNOW

1. WHAT EVERY EMPLOYER WITH EMPLOYEES SHOULD KNOW AN UPDATE ON CURRENT LABOR LAWS IN WASHINGTON AND HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON THE PREMIUMS YOU PAY Tammie Hetrick, IOM SHRM-CP Chief Operating Officer Washington Retail Association

2. Where to start? Employee handbook • A well written employee handbook/policy manual is key • Employees are clear on expectations • Outlines benefits • Allows you to stay compliant with state and federal policies • Many samples can be found online, be sure it is compliant with your state and city • WRA will be developing a customizable manual for their members

3. Labor laws to be aware of • Sick and Safe leave: Effective January 1, 2018 • Equal pay: Effective June 7, 2018 • Domestic violence protections: Effective June 7, 2018 • Sexual harassment discrimination: Effective June 7, 2018 • Paid family and medical leave: Effective January 1, 2019 for premium collection • January 1, 2020 for benefits

4. State Sick Leave - January 1, 2018 • Passed through voter initiative as part of minimum wage I-1433 • Usage • Applies to all hours worked - 1 hour for every 40 hours worked • Recordkeeping includes overtime exempt employees • Carry over of up to 40 hours • Draft sick leave policy https://www.lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/files/FamilyLeave/BasicSamplePSLPolicy.docx

5. Sick Leave Usage • To care for themselves or a family member • When the employees’ workplace or their child’s school or place of care has been closed by a public official for health-related reasons • For absences that qualify for leave under the state’s Domestic Violence Leave Act • Employers may allow employees to use paid sick leave for additional purposes • Can be a paid time off (PTO) or can have sick leave accrue separate from vacation • Can request verification after three days off https://www.lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/files/FamilyLeave/VerificationAbsencesExceedingThreeDaysSamplePolicy.docx

6. Recordkeeping • Employers are required to keep and preserve payroll or other records containing the following for every employee the law applies: • Hours worked each workday and total hours worked each workweek, including all earnings or wages due during any overtime worked, but exclusive of overtime excess compensation • http://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=296-128-010

7. Notification • If PTO used, must have a written policy • Be sure to document when sick leave is used • Any requests in writing should be kept as part of the record

8. Disciplinary Actions • Document attendance concerns or issues • Most important is documentation • Be clear in what exceeded the acceptable standards • Outline what will occur if there isn’t improvement or if there are additional absences outside acceptable standards. Be clear. • Write up should have support of employee handbook • Employee should be aware of what is acceptable standards and what is considered excessive

9. Pay Equity • Expands employers’ potential liability for certain specific workplace practices and will provide additional remedies in an effort to achieve gender pay equity • Enforced by Department of Labor and Industries • Prohibits any gender based discrimination in providing compensation among similarly employed employees • Be sure any wage discrepancies are clearly documented. You can have incentives and pay differentials, just be sure you clearly document why and how. • Acceptable reasons for a difference in pay • Education, training or experience. • Seniority. • Merit. • Measuring earnings by production quantity or quality. • Regional difference in compensation levels. • Other reasons for a difference in pay that may be acceptable • Job-related factors consistent with business need. • Reasons not based on gender. • Local minimum wage laws. Please note: A difference in pay cannot be based on an employee's wage or salary history.

10. Domestic Violence Protections • Protects survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking from employment discrimination • Requires reasonable safety accommodations to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking and incorporates additional prohibitions on discriminating or retaliating against actual or perceived victims of domestic violence • Restricts an employer from threatening to discharge, demote, suspend or in any manner discriminate or retaliate against an individual with regard to promotion, or compensation. • This is challenging in a retail setting and we do have crime victims programs to help people in this situation. The concern is to the risk of other employees and patrons

11. Domestic Violence Protections • Working with legislators and Department of Labor and Industries to help retailers comply- risk of other employees and store patrons • Check our website for updates www.retailassociation.org

12. Ban the Box • Restricts an employer from asking about arrest convictions prior to offering a job to the applicant • Also known as the “Fair chance act” • This has already been the law in some jurisdictions • Restrictions include: • Advertising openings in a way that excludes people with arrest or conviction records from applying, such as using advertisements that state “no felons,” “no criminal background,” or that otherwise convey similar messages; • Including any question in an employment application, inquiring orally or in writing, receiving information through a criminal history background check, or otherwise obtaining information about an applicant’s arrest or conviction record, until after the employer has initially determined that the applicant is otherwise qualified for the position; • Having automatic disqualifiers or categorically disqualifying an individual based a criminal record before initially determining the person is otherwise qualified for the position; or • Rejecting or disqualifying an applicant for failure to disclose a criminal record prior to initially determining the applicant is otherwise qualified for the position.

13. Ban the Box- Does not apply to: • Any employer hiring a person who will or may have unsupervised access to children under the age of 18 or a vulnerable adult or person, as defined by Washington law; • Any employer, including a financial institution, who is expressly permitted or required under any federal or state law to inquire into, consider, or rely on information about an applicant’s or employee’s criminal record for employment purposes; • Various law enforcement agencies or criminal justice agencies in Washington; • Any employer seeking a nonemployee volunteer; or • Any entity required to comply with the rules or regulations of a self-regulatory organization, as defined by the Securities Exchange Act.

14. Paid Family Leave – January 1, 2019

15. Paid Family and Medical Leave • January 1, 2019 Premium Collections begin • .4% of paycheck • Employee pays 63% • Employer <50 or opt in 37% • % will change based on usage of funds. • Family leave is 100% employee funded • Medical leave is 45% employee funded and 55% employer funded • January 1, 2020 Employee can start taking benefits • Percentage of income is higher for low wage workers and is capped at $1,000 weekly benefit

16. Paid Family and Medical LeaveOpt in for under 50 employees • Hiring of a temporary worker to replace an employee for at least 7 days can apply for a $3,00 grant • Employers who incur significant additional wage related costs due to an employees leave can apply for a grant of up to $1,000 • Maximum of 10 grants per year and only 1 per employee on leave. • Do not have a requirement to hold their position open • Follows FMLA requirements unless in a voluntary plan • Collective bargaining agreements in effect on 10/19/2017 are exempt until the agreement is reopened

17. FREE SAFETY TRAINING APP IN THE APPLE STORE OR ANDROID ENTRY LEVEL WORKERS ONLINE TRAINING FOR RETAIL AND (COMING SOON) AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRIES

18. Retrospective Rating • Get a refund on the taxes paid to labor and industries • Fees are covered through our savings • Aggressive claims management • Legally compliant safety training • Return to work assistance- No charge to apply for wage reimbursement of up to 50% of wages for up to 66 days. We send check directly to you. • Attorneys and private investigations included at no additional cost • Assistance with ALL Labor and Industries issues

19. Questions/Discussion Useful links Employer Information on Paid Family Leave • https://esdorchardstorage.blob.core.windows.net/esdwa/Default/ESDWAGOV/paid-family-medical-leave/Paid_Family_Medical_QA_EMPLOYER%20(002)-1.pdf Sick Leave vs. Paid Family Leave • https://esdorchardstorage.blob.core.windows.net/esdwa/Default/ESDWAGOV/paid-family-medical-leave/Paid-Family-Medical-vs-Paid-Sick-1.pdf Retail Association Services, Inc. (service provider for Washington Retail Association) www.retailassociationservices.com THANK YOU TAMMIE HETRICK, IOM SHRM-CP, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER WASHINGTON RETAIL ASSOCIATION (360) 200-6452 tammie@retailassociation.org