State Removes 1099, ‘Casual Laborers’ From Family Leave Bill
Maybe it was to close a potential loophole?
State legislators late last week and the beginning of this week have introduced House Bill (HB) 2614, which addresses the new Family Leave Act that went into effect January 1st in Washington state.
The Act provides for paid time off for full time workers (30 hours or more) in the event of an illness to themselves or immediate family member, birth of a child and some other extenuating circumstances.
However, legislators are closing what we suspect was a potential loophole. HB 2614 exempts what is called "Casual Labor" from being covered.
Casual Labor is defined as sporadic or part-time work, or as the Feds define it, work that doesn't advance the business of the employer. 1099 or contract workers are also removed from this coverage. Those would be consultants or others who do not permanently work for a certain employer, but rather get their money by performing 'contracts' or jobs for a business. When the job or task is over, they move on.
There hasn't been a great deal of 'publicity' or attention paid to this, but it will likely get some now that these adjustments have been made.
For more information on this bill, click on the button below.