Jan Teague

President/CEO

360.943.9198, ext. 19

jteague@retailassociation.org

Mark Johnson

Vice President of Government Affairs

360.943.9198, ext. 15

mark.johnson@retailassociation.org

Tammie Hetrick

Vice President of Retail Services (RASI)

360.943.9198, ext. 13

tammie@retailassociationservices.com  

Jim Szymanski

Seattle issues first report on sick and safe leave

By Jan Teague, President/CEO

This week the Seattle City Auditor David Jones gave council members the findings of an employer survey showing that over 90 percent of employers say their employees stay home when they are sick.  While the ordinance was implemented with the idea that people work while they are sick and transmit their illnesses to others, the study findings seem to contradict this notion.  In fact, the study states that employers who offer paid sick leave are more likely to report that their employees come to work while they are sick. 

The authors of the study say that they tended to interview more businesses in the restaurant industry, which might be a reason that the study results didn't come out as they had expected.  There are findings that co-workers do the work for absent workers and some shift-swapping occurs.  These findings are easy to conclude and I think happen without a cumbersome ordinance to require paid sick leave. 

People need their tips to really make the living they need to and a paid sick leave ordinance can't address this.  Unfortunately when the ordinance was passed, the restaurant industry was under attack and people heard stories about sick employees infecting the public.

Over 11,000 employers are impacted by this ordinance with the majority of them being locally owned and having fewer that 50 employees.  The study reports that because people tend to stay home when they are sick, now they will get paid for staying home.  While the business community told the city that the program would raise their costs, now this study admits that the outcome has been to raise people's wages for those companies that don't pay for sick leave when people stay home. 

The study reports that more outreach and awareness of the new law is needed.  Many employers interviewed had not heard of the new requirements.  They also reported that of those employers who had not heard about the ordinance only four in ten planned to change their policies.  This means they would be out of compliance with the law.

I think these results will lead the city to re-evaluate what it is doing.  However, given that the union influence in this was a big factor, I don't see the city repealing it. 

There are a number of follow up reports expected over the fall and into next year.  The city will likely beef up its enforcement and penalties for noncompliance in the future.  The business community continues its involvement in the process and according to the Seattle Chamber, more study needs to be done on the business impact of the ordinance by taking a closer look at the business costs for administration of the program.

If you would like to review the study you can see it at this link to the UW's report on mandatory sick leave: http://www.seattle.gov/audit/docs/SickSafeLeaveBaselineReport070213.pdf.

WRA meets with L&I director

Tammie Hetrick, WRA's VP of Retail Services, met with L&I Director Joel Sacks this week to discuss future legislation and ways to speed the independent medical exam process.

Hetrick said she expects WRA will continue discussions with Sacks on cooperating to speed medical exam processing to reduce costs for employers and provide better outcomes for workers.

"We're working on identifying how we can work with the department to improve this process," Hetrick said. "I'm looking forward to continuing discussions."

Hetrick said Sacks told her he would report back on how he is working to make L&I's administrative services more efficient. He also encouraged Hetrick to continue sharing ideas on behalf of WRA members.

Hetrick also discussed WRA's interest in obtaining legislation that would allow Retro programs to assist L&I in scheduling independent medical exams for injured workers. WRA plans to support such a bill in the 2014 legislative session if improvements cannot be made in the interim.

For further information, contact Hetrick at 360-943-9198, Ext. 13 or at Tammie@retailassociation.org.

WRA board meets in Spokane next week

The WRA board of directors will meet in Spokane next week for an annual retreat.

Besides reviewing WRA's goals, the board will meet with state legislators and is scheduled to hear addresses by keynote speaker David Condon, the Mayor of Spokane and Richard Hadley, President and CEO of Greater Spokane Incorporated.

WRA will take next week off from sending out the weekly newsletter and report on outcomes of the retreat the week of July 22.

WRA also is preparing its annual report on outcomes from the 2013 legislative session. WRA will share the annual Law Review and Voting Record with members following the retreat.

With adjournment, attention turns to primary, initiatives

Now that the Legislature has adjourned for the year after two overtime sessions, attention turns to special Senate elections in the Aug. 6 primary and two initiatives that will appear on the November ballot.

The primary's top race in the 26^th Legislative District involves Republican candidate Jan Angel and Democrat Nathan Schlicher. As the race's only two candidates, they will advance to the general election after the primary.

Two other special elections in the 7^th District (northeastern Washington) pit Republicans Michael Brunson, Brian Dansel and John Smith against each other while the primary in the 8^th District (Tri Cities) pits Republicans Tony Benegas, Phillip Lemley and incumbent Sharon Brown against each other. Visit The Secretary of State's website to learn more about these candidates.

Voters also will see two initiatives to the Legislature on the November ballot. WRA opposes both Initiatives 517 and 522.

517 would allow more time to get initiatives on the ballot. WRA is concerned it would interfere with the property rights of retailers by expanding access for those assembling signatures on petitions.

522 seeks to require labels on genetically engineered food. WRA believes such a requirement would confuse consumers and contribute to rising food prices.

Public hearings next week on PacificCorp rate increase request

Business owners in the Yakima and Walla Walla areas will be able to testify next week at public hearings regarding a PacificCorp rate increase request.

The company is seeking a 14.1 percent increase in electric rates.

The Public Counsel Division of the Washington State Attorney General's Office has challenged the request as too high, objected to the proposed doubling of rates to reconnect service and requested that executive compensation levels be reduced.

The Public Counsel's request would reduce PacificCorp's request for $42.8 million in additional revenues by $23 million.

The hearings:

**Yakima:  Monday, July 15, 2013, from 6:00-7:30 p.m., in the Yakima City Council Chambers, 129 North 2^nd Street, Yakima. 

**Walla Walla:  Tuesday, July 16, 2013, from 12:00-1:30 p.m., in the Walla Walla City Council Chambers, 15 North 3^rd Avenue, Walla Walla. 

Written comments may be sent to the Utilities and Transportation Commission, P.O. Box 47250, Olympia 98504 or e-mailed to comments@utc.wa.gov involving docket number UE 130043.

Source: Attorney General

Maxwell leaving Legislature

The latest Legislature vacancy is in King County's 41^st District with the resignation of Democract Rep. Marcie Maxwell of Renton.

Maxwell, who was the deputy majority leader of the House, will become an education policy advisor to Gov. Jay Inslee, seattlepi.com reports. The district covers East and South King County including Renton, Bellevue, Issaquah and Mercer Island.

The King County Council will select Maxwell's successor, who would have to run in the fall election to retain the seat.

Source: seattlepi.com

State recycling volumes increase

The volume of TVs, computers and monitors contributed to the state's free recycling program is running 11.3 percent ahead of last year, Ecology reported this week.

At the mid-year point, consumers had deposited 22.28 million pounds of recyclable electronics compares to 20.02 million for the same time last year, said Miles Kuntz, an Ecology Department spokesman.

He attributed the increased volumes to growing public awareness about the program. Click here for more information about drop off locations. Click here for a county-by-county report of collections.

Source: Ecology

Tacoma chamber needs feedback on business threat

A grassroots organizing effort has been identified that is trying to pass a Tacoma law to require businesses to offer paid sick and safe leave time to employees.

A similar law in Seattle, the only one of its kind in the state, has proven to be an expensive record keeping nightmare.

WRA is cooperating with the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce to inform businesses about this proposal and solicit comments regarding the burdensome financial impacts it would bring if passed into law. Contact Mark Johnson, VP of Government Affairs, for more information at 360-943-9198, Ext. 15 or mark.johnson@retailassociation.org.

WRA members may contact Tom Pierson, President & CEO of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce for more information, at 253-627-2175. Also, visit the chamber's website established to solicit testimony opposing the idea.

Tacoma city council members have received many calls of concern from the Tacoma business community and have publicly expressed concern about the idea.

WRA opposed the Seattle law on several fronts. It is expensive to administer and leaves room for abuse that can be damaging to businesses that need to remain adequately staffed to serve customers.

Look for updates on this issue in future WRA newsletters.

Watch video overview of WRA's discount shipping partner

WRA's third-party shipping provider, PartnerShip, has released a short video overview of the discount services it offers customers.

As a WRA member, you could begin saving up to 27 percent on select FedEx shipping services by joining PartnerShip free of charge.

Four other possible advantages of joining PartnerShip include:

*Routing management. Based on an analysis of shipments, PartnerShip will recommend the best shippers for particular routes. The recommendation is based on a carrier's cost effectiveness and customer service.

*Bill auditing. Vendors such as PartnerShip say they often find invoices with rate errors of up to 10 percent in favor of the freight carrier. Corrections are made before the third-party vendor sends the bill to the customer.

*Improved inbound shipping. By relying on vendors to control your inbound shipping, it can be difficult to learn how and when your orders will be shipped and delivered. You can gain that knowledge by arranging shipping through a third party partner such as PartnerShip.

*Consolidated invoices. For frequent shippers, this can mean paying only one bill weekly or monthly as opposed to paying for each shipment.

Click here to watch the video overview of the company and obtain contact information. Also, visit PartnerShip's website and its improved, separate shipping website.

Safety tip: (one in a series)

Young workers have higher injury rates

Summer is the season when employers are most likely to be employing younger workers, many on their breaks from school.

Research by Labor & Industries shows that workers aged 18 to 21 have the highest overall nonfatal injury rates in the state. It also shows that workers age 16 to 24 recorded a higher nonfatal injury rate that workers aged 25 and older.

L&I's Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP) team has analyzed injury rates and done interviews before posting a series of safety alerts online geared toward preventing injuries for younger workers. Visit young workers to review accounts detailing a variety of injury incidents involving younger workers and ways to avoid them.

L&I also oversees a speakers program through which employers can schedule young workers who have been injured to speak to the importance of remaining safe on the job.

State law requires most employers to maintain an accident prevention program. WRA employs Maria Justin as a safety advisor. She can help members draw up a safety plan and suggest ideas for safety meetings.

Contact Maria at 360-943-9198, Ext. 21 or at maria@retailassociationservices.com.