A person's work personnel file can be important to review, but some Washingtonians are finding them hard to obtain.

A bill in Olympia would ensure they get them in a timely manner. The legislation would require businesses to release workers' personnel files within 14 days or pay statutory damages to the worker.

Such files can contain key information on an employee's termination for workers' compensation cases or unemployment benefits.

Rep. Julia Reed, D-Seattle, said some companies withhold files for long periods of time or hand them over heavily redacted.

"If you're trying to get unemployment you don't have a month to wait for your employer to say that they found your file," Reed contended. "I think it's reasonable to ask employers to find things within two weeks."

Opponents of the bill said it will be hard for businesses to accommodate requests in the bill's 14-day time period, especially for small businesses. The legislation has passed the House and is scheduled for executive session in the Senate Committee on Labor and Commerce today.

Jesse Wing, a trial lawyer in Seattle, said the bill puts teeth in the current law when it comes to handing over personnel files. He is critical of businesses opposed to the measure.

"It all seems like an effort to shut down kind of a due process of an employee to know what's going on with their employment, and I think it just emphasizes the need for this bill," Wing asserted.

Reed added the goal of the bill is to help workers.

"This bill just basically tries to balance the scales a little bit and say that this information that your employer keeps on you is your information, and you should have a right to see it," Reed stressed.


get more stories like this via email

Gov. Spencer Cox has announced a statewide initiative to increase awareness of the Affordable Connectivity Program, which aims to get more Utahns connected to the internet.

The "ACP Act Now: Utah" initiative unites a number of stakeholders to close the broadband affordability gap. According to the governor's office, almost 350,000 Utah households are eligible for a federal discount on monthly internet service, but only 16% of them have enrolled.

Clint Cottam, executive director of the Community Action Partnership of Utah, said many are not aware of the program, which is part of the issue.

"About 65% of our unconnected households are actually because of affordability, not because of infrastructure," Cottam pointed out. "Now granted, there is still 35% that are infrastructure-related -- not getting enough providers and overcoming some of those planning barriers -- but really, it's cost affordability."

Cottam pointed out being able to connect to the internet is essential for work, school and health care needs, especially post-pandemic. He added the State of Utah is starting to better understand broadband access is as important as other utilities, and those left behind will be at a disadvantage.

Cottam acknowledged there is also a general distrust of government-sponsored programs for many rural and marginalized populations. He emphasized community action agencies can help establish trust to get more people enrolled.

He added not all populations in Utah have the confidence or skills to complete the online forms, and networks like his serve those communities. Cottam stressed nationally, people of color are disproportionately affected by lack of broadband connectivity.

"We want to make this a service that is integrated with other things that can help a family stabilize and realize greater economic security," Cottam asserted. "I want people to know it is OK to ask for help, and it is OK to get help."

He said the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes funding for Affordable Connectivity Program outreach, which should help groups already working with lower-income clients.

More than 40% of private sector workers in Pennsylvania earned their living at businesses without retirement plans, as of 2020. Multiple groups are now urging the General Assembly to pass legislation to change it.

A bill under consideration would establish a state-facilitated retirement savings program for private-sector workers.

Bill Johnston-Walsh, state director for AARP Pennsylvania, said the bill aims to address the retirement security gap in Pennsylvania, where more than two million workers lack a workplace retirement savings plan.

He thinks the "Keystone Saves" program outlined in the bill would be a win, both for small businesses and their employees.

"The important thing about Keystone Saves is that it is where the worker owns their own account," Johnston-Walsh explained. "It's where they can take it from job to job, so it's portable. And the bottom line is that they will be able to start saving for their retirement."

Johnston-Walsh argued a simple, voluntary payroll deduction would give more people a chance to build their own financial security. In other states, some banking and investment interests have voiced concerns it could cut into their business.

Research indicates people are 15 times more likely to save for retirement with a workplace plan. House Bill 577 passed the House in May and is now under consideration by the state Senate.

This week, AARP Pennsylvania was part of a news conference about the bill, with Sen. Art Haywood, D-Montgomery, and Rep. Kyle Mullins, D-Blakely. Johnston-Walsh added in a recent poll, up to 79% of small businesses and business owners said they'd support Keystone Saves.

"By passing this legislation, the Keystone Saves legislation, we'll be putting a secure future within everyone's reach within Pennsylvania now," Johnston-Walsh contended. "It's fair. It's right. And it's time to be able to do this and pass Keystone Saves."

He noted they have until the end of November 2024 to get the bill to the governor's desk for a signature. Eighteen states have already enacted state-facilitated payroll-deduction retirement savings, sometimes known as "Work and Save" programs.

As the summer construction season ramps up, the industry is preparing for new requirements under a pending Minnesota law change.

In recent years, Minnesota has cracked down on wage theft. But labor leaders within construction say they were still seeing too many workers being taken advantage of.

They pushed for a bill in the recent legislative session to hold owners and managers of construction sites liable, and not just a subcontractor suspected of wage theft.

Adam Duininck, director of government affairs for the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, said the provision was included in a final budget bill.

"The best part about this law, if it works really well," said Duininck, "what will happen is general (contractors) and developers won't hire those bad subcontractors to begin with - because then the general and the developer will understand that they're responsible for that."

The bill does carve out exemptions for certain single-family housing development projects, as well as contractors with collective bargaining agreements.

Some associations within the industry criticized the plan, saying it plays favorites in regard to those exemptions.

But Duininck contended that job sites with unionized contractors often don't have problems with wage theft.

The changes are scheduled to take effect August 1. In the meantime, Duininck said he hopes there's not only awareness among project leaders - but that word spreads among workers as well.

"I think that workers will hopefully feel more empowered to speak up when they are experiencing wage and hour issues," said Duininck. "A lot of the workers that we talk with on this matter come to us as immigrant workers, as workers that don't feel like they have a lot of rights to begin with."

The changes follow Minnesota's wage-theft law that was adopted in 2019.

According to the union, Minnesota joins Illinois as the only other Midwestern state to weave in specific liability language for general contractors and developers.