When are operations included in a basic classification and when are they excluded?
There are operations, such as pickup and delivery work, which are common to many businesses. When types of work are normal and expected for an industry, support the overall operations of a business, and are performed by employees of the business, we call them general inclusions. We will assign separate classifications for these operations only if:
• They represent a separate business or separate store location, and additional classifications are allowed or required by the multiple classifications rule (WAC 296-17-31017); or • The classification describing a business specifically excludes the operation; or
• It is permitted or required by another reporting rule.
Example 1: It is common that some businesses will have their own legal staff and the legal work is considered an inclusion to the classification that best describes the employer's nature of business. For this reason, we will not assign the law firm classification for private legal staff employed by a business that is not also in the business of providing legal services to others.
General inclusions include activities such as:
• Air travel by employees who are not members of a flight crew.
• Information and technology workers, legal staff, and engineers (unless an exception classification applies; see WAC 296-17-31018). • Food services provided exclusively for a firm's own employees.
Exception: | Food services operated for businesses performing construction, lumbering, or mining are assigned classification 3905; see WAC 296-17A-3905. |
• Cleaning at the employer's business location. If workers exclusively clean at employer's business offices, see WAC 296-17-31018. • Manufacturing of containers, packaging, bags, barrels, bottles, boxes, cans, cartons, wooden pallets, or packing cases for exclusive use by the employer's business.
• Medical facilities or dispensaries operated by employers for their employees.
• Printing or similar operations when performed exclusively as a service to the employer's business.
• Maintenance or ordinary repair of an employer's building or equipment.
• Pickup and delivery when performed exclusively in connection with the business of the employer.
• Repair performed in connection with manufacturing or assembly, such as warranty repairs at the manufacturer's shop or plant.
• Sales of products manufactured by the employer, unless permitted by another rule.
• Warehousing, handling, packing, and shipping when performed exclusively in connection with the business of the employer.
• Testing or analytical laboratories when operated exclusively in connection with the business of the employer.
Example 2: Workers performing similar jobs are often reported in different classifications, depending on their employers' type of business, the classification rules describing the businesses, and the reporting rules. In this example we see how the classifications for drivers may vary:
• Drivers for a retail grocery store are included in the retail grocery classification 6402 since the classification does not exclude delivery.
• Drivers working for a drug store are included in the delivery classification 1101, because the drug store classification 6406 excludes delivery.
• Drivers for household moving businesses are included in the moving and storage classification 6907, since the classification does not exclude delivery.
• Drivers for intrastate and interstate common carriers are included in the trucking classification 1102, since the classification does not exclude drivers.
