Original Notice.

     Exempt from preproposal statement of inquiry under RCW 34.05.310(4).

     Title of Rule: WAC 356-15-080 Standby compensation.

     Purpose: This rule pertains to employee standby compensation.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapter 41.06 RCW.

     Statute Being Implemented: RCW 41.06.150.

     Summary: The modification is being proposed to clarify on-call availability status and eliminate questionable and inaccurate language.

     Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting: Sharon Whitehead, 521 Capitol Way South, Olympia, WA, (360) 664-6348; Implementation and Enforcement: Department of Personnel.

     Name of Proponent: Department of Personnel, governmental.

     Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.

     Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: This rule pertains to standby compensation and requirements. The modification to the rule is to clarify the questionable and inaccurate language.

     Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: See above.

     No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. Not required.

     RCW 34.05.328 does not apply to this rule adoption.

     Hearing Location: Department of Personnel, 521 Capitol Way South, Olympia, WA, on September 12, 2002, at 10:00 a.m.

     Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Department of Personnel by September 5, 2002, TDD (360) 753-4107 or (360) 586-8260.

     Submit Written Comments to: Sharon Whitehead, Department of Personnel, P.O. Box 47500, fax (360) 586-4694, by September 10, 2002.

     Date of Intended Adoption: September 12, 2002.

July 29, 2002

E. C. Matt

Secretary

     (a) An employee is in standby status ((when not being paid for time actually worked)) while waiting to be engaged to work by the employer and both of the following conditions exist:

     (i) The employee is required to be present at a specified location or is immediately available to be contacted. The employer may specify the location. The location may be the employee's home or other specific location, but not a work site away from home. When the standby location is the employee's home, and the home is on the same state property where the employee works, the home is not considered a work site.

     (ii) The agency requires the employee to be prepared to report immediately for work if the need arises, although the need might not arise.

Note:

When the nature of a duty station confines an employee during off duty hours (e.g., a ship), and that confinement is a normal condition of work in the employee's position, standby compensation is not required merely because the employee is confined.

     (b) An agency may issue a written policy stating that an employee is in standby status ((when not being paid for time worked)) while waiting to be engaged to work when required to leave a telephone number with the agency or remain in communication with a dispatching authority to respond to a call to begin work in a specified time limit.

     (c) Standby status shall not be concurrent with work time.

     (2) Payment: Any scheduled or nonscheduled work period employee required to stand by shall be paid the hourly standby rate. Standby pay may be authorized by an agency for exceptions work period employees. Standby pay for exceptions work period employees may be compensated with exchange time. ((Exceptions work period employee standby may be compensated with compensatory time. The compensatory time shall be equal in base salary to the dollar amount of standby pay earned.))

     (3) Rate: The standby hourly rate for each step of any range is calculated by dividing the maximum number of standby hours in a workweek (128 hours) into the difference between that step of the range and the same letter step of the range which is exactly two whole numbers higher. That is: (28 - 26, or 28.3 - 26.3) divided by 128 hours.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 41.06.040 and 41.06.150. 91-20-027 (Order 381), § 356-15-080, filed 9/23/91, effective 10/24/91; 91-03-069 (Order 367), § 356-15-080, filed 1/16/91, effective 7/1/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 41.06.150. 87-15-065 (Order 281), § 356-15-080, filed 7/16/87, effective 9/1/87; 86-12-025 (Order 248), § 356-15-080, filed 5/28/86, effective 7/1/86. Statutory Authority: RCW 41.06.150(17). 82-22-020 (Order 177), § 356-15-080, filed 10/26/82; 81-20-060 (Order 161), § 356-15-080, filed 10/5/81; Order 98, § 356-15-080, filed 1/13/77, effective 2/13/77; Order 86, § 356-15-080, filed 5/4/76, effective 10/1/76.*]

     Reviser's note: The bracketed material preceding the section above was supplied by the code reviser's office.

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