WSR 17-17-126 PERMANENT RULES EMPLOYMENT SECURITY DEPARTMENT [Filed August 22, 2017, 9:32 a.m., effective October 10, 2017] Effective Date of Rule: October 10, 2017. Purpose: The rule allows employers whose workers will be temporarily laid off for more than four, but fewer than eight weeks to initiate a request for standby for up to eight weeks. Approval of standby waives the worksearch requirement, which allows employers a better opportunity to retain a skilled workforce. It also streamlines agency workload by eliminating the need for a supplemental request when claimants have been approved for four or fewer weeks of standby and the employer anticipates the expected return to work date will be longer. Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 192-110-015. Adopted under notice filed as WSR 17-14-087 on June 30, 2017. A final cost-benefit analysis is available by contacting Christina Streuli, Employment Security Department, P.O. Box 9046, Olympia, WA 98507, phone 360-902-9647, fax 360-902-9605, TTY Teresa Eckstein, State EO Officer, 711 or 360-902-9354, email Cstreuli@esd.wa.gov, web site esd.wa.gov. Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0. Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Date Adopted: August 21, 2017. Dale Peinecke Commissioner
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 17-01-051, filed 12/13/16, effective 1/13/17)
WAC 192-110-015 Applications by standby workers—RCW 50.20.010.
(1) What is "standby?"
(a) "Standby" means you are temporarily unemployed because of a lack of work but:
(i) You expect to return to work with your regular employer within four weeks; or
(ii) You expect to begin full-time work with a new employer within two weeks; or
(iii) You are temporarily unemployed due to natural disaster.
(b) You do not have to register for work or look for other work while you are on standby.
(c) You must be available for all hours of work offered by your regular employer.
(2) How long can I be on standby?
(a) You can ask to be on standby for up to four weeks, beginning with the date of the request.
(b) We will ask your employer to verify that you are on standby ((and)), including your expected return to work date:
(i) If your employer does not reply, you can be on standby for up to four weeks;
(ii) If your employer confirms you are on standby, you can be on standby ((for up to four weeks or)) until the return to work date given by your employer, ((whichever is earlier)) subject to the limitations of (c) of this subsection;
(iii) If your employer replies that you are not on standby or do not have a return to work date within eight weeks, we will require you to immediately register for work and to look for work.
(c) Your regular employer may ask ((to extend your)) that you be placed on standby ((status for more than four, but no more than)) for a maximum of eight((,)) weeks (except as provided in (2)(d) below). This request must be approved by the department. We will consider the following before deciding whether to approve standby for more than four weeks:
(i) How long you have been out of work;
(ii) Whether other suitable work is available;
(iii) The impact on you and your employer if you accept other work; and
(iv) Other factors that apply to your situation.
(d) At his or her discretion, the commissioner may grant standby for more than eight weeks in a benefit year. Exceptions can be made due to natural disaster. Exceptions can also be made in other extraordinary circumstances when the employer applies in writing and shows there are conditions that apply to the business that are so unique or unusual compared to similar businesses that having their employees on standby for more than eight weeks is necessary.
(e) We can approve standby if you have obtained a definite offer of bona fide full-time work that has a probable start date within two weeks, which includes the week of the job offer and up to two additional weeks. If the standby request under this subsection is part of your initial claim, standby begins with the date of the request.
(f) The job, however, must be:
(i) With a new employer or with a former employer to whom you are no longer attached as provided in subsection (3)(f) of this section; and
(ii) Covered by Title 50 RCW or the comparable laws of another state or the federal government.
(3) Are there conditions that apply to a request for standby?
(a) You must have a probable date when you will return to work for your regular employer;
(b) We will not approve standby if you only have prospects of future work with your regular employer or a promise of more work at some unspecified date;
(c) We will not approve standby with your regular employer unless the employment is covered by Title 50 RCW or the comparable laws of another state or the federal government;
(d) Except for claimants who qualify as part-time eligible workers under RCW 50.20.119, we will not approve standby if you regularly work less than full-time. For purposes of this section, "full-time" means forty hours each week or the number of hours that are full-time for your occupation and labor market area;
(e) Any week(s) that you do not qualify for benefits will not be considered as part of the maximum eight weeks of standby; and
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