LEOFF 1 Advisory Group Update

The LEOFF 1 Advisory Group has met on a regular basis over the interim and is close to finalizing a fact sheet on local government LEOFF 1 medical and long-term-care liabilities intended to educate legislators and others on the issues. The group will not develop recommendations for solutions by the end of this year, but is expected to continue to meet into next year.

The Advisory Group was established by the Legislature, in cooperation with the Department of Retirement Systems and comprised of local government employers, LEOFF 1 retirees and others to gather information by fall of this year and then begin discussions to identify a means of assisting local government meet the State Actuary defined liability of $1.745 billion.

State Actuary GASB 45 Online Tool

The Office of the State Actuary’s 2009-2011 budget request includes $25,000 to update the study of LEOFF 1 post-retirement benefits that local governments are required to provide under current law, including medical and long-term-care costs. The updated study will allow the continued use of the online tool designed to assist some local governments in estimating their individual GASB liability of OPEB (other post employment benefits) which they are now required to disclose under GASB 45.

Family Leave Insurance (E2SSB 5659)

This bill created a new insurance program, scheduled to begin in October 2009, giving new parents $250 a week for up to five weeks while they take time off from work to bond with a new born or newly adopted child. Earlier this year the Legislature approved funding of $6.2 million for the Department of Employment Security (ESD) to build a computer system to process payments for paid family leave. ESD was in the process of hiring staff to complete the project when the state hiring freezes when into effect August 4. Recently, Governor Gregoire suspended any further work on the computer system that would have operated the program. How to pay for the new benefit had not been determined, and given the state budget crises, implementation by October 2009 is in doubt.

Stevens v. Brink’s Home Security Decision

On October 18, 2007, the Washington Supreme Court released its decision in Stevens v. Brink’s Home Security, holding that Brink’s service and installation technicians who drove employer vehicles from home to the first job site of the day and from the last job site of the day back home are entitled to compensation for the time they spent driving between home and the job site.

Consequently, Labor and Industries revised its administrative policy dealing with drive time consistent with the decision. Follow the link below to read the policy amendment which includes information about hours worked, defining travel time and when it is considered hours worked, whether time spent driving in an employer-provided vehicle constitutes paid work time, factors to consider in determining if an employee is "on duty" when driving an employer-provided vehicle between work and home and more at: Hours Worked.

Changes in American with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 was signed into law by President Bush on September 25, 2008 and becomes effective January 1, 2009. The new law expands disability definitions and how they will be interpreted and applied. The new definition of disability must favor broad coverage of individuals. The definition of "major life activity" is expanded to specify examples of major life activities and major bodily functions. Mitigating measures can no longer be considered when determining disability status (with the exception of ordinary glasses or contact lenses).

The definition of "regarded as disabled" is also expanded permitting an individual to meet the "regarded as" standard whether or not impairment limits a major life activity. Under the new law, an impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when the impairment is active. Look for an in depth article on these significant changes and how they affect employers and mesh with Washington state disability law in the October issue of Personnel News.

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