Passage of “Facebook” bill is a victory for civil liberties

We've all read about people seeking jobs and getting asked for their Facebook login information, or even told to log into their accounts right there so the interviewer can "shoulder surf".

Can employers do this as a condition for employment?

We've also heard about employers requiring their existing employees to disclose this information.

Are these requirements legal?

There's nothing in current law that prohibits employers from doing any of this. But that'll change as soon as Gov. Inslee signs Senate Bill 5211, which passed the House today on a unanimous vote.

A striking amendment -- introduced by Rep. Chris Reykdal and strongly supported by everyone on both sides of the aisle, the business community and the ACLU -- provides a clear solution to the problem of employers who demand that job applicants or current employees do one or all of these things:

• provide the passwords to their private social media accounts such as Facebook
• log into their accounts in the presence of the employer
• add an individual affiliated with the employer to their "friends" lists associated with social media sites

Photo credit: freedigitalphotos.com

The legislation explicitly bars:

•  employers from requesting or requiring disclosure of an employee or applicant's personal social networking login or password under any circumstance
• coercive "friending" and forced logins in the employer's presence
• employers from retaliation against employees for refusing to comply with their requests

The bill does allow investigations by employers in regards to leaks of proprietary information or to comply with law, but even then, the employer cannot request or require the personal login information or engage in coercive friending or forced logins.

If the employer is carrying out an investigation, he may request the leaked content, but there is no requirement that the employee turn it over.

In fact, this bill does not give the employer more power to force disclosure of that information than exists under current law.

With the passage of this bill, Washington joins 8 other states that have enacted some form of legislation addressing the issue.

Read this story in Spanish.

May employment numbers show optimism

Washington added more than 11,700 jobs in May and the state’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 8.3 percent. And this is good news. Wait. What?

According to Employment Security Department (ESD) economist Anneliese Vance-Sherman, this means more unemployed people are re-entering the job market. She said that in this particular case “the higher unemployment rate could be a sign that people are feeling more optimistic about their chances of finding a job.” The unemployment rate is calculated by dividing the estimated number of unemployed people who have looked for work within the past four weeks by the total civilian labor force.

The big May job gains were in:
• Professional and business services: +5,400 jobs
• Transportation, warehousing and utilities: +2,600 jobs
• Wholesale trade: +1,900 jobs
• Manufacturing: +1,400 jobs
• Construction: +1,200 jobs
• Financial activities: +1,000 jobs
• Retail trade: +400 jobs
• Education and health services: +400 jobs

Meanwhile, the government payroll continued shrinking as 2,600 jobs were lost. Here’s the breakdown:
• Federal employment in Washington: -1,100 jobs
• State agencies: -700 jobs
• Local government: -300 jobs
• K-12 schools: -300 jobs
• Public higher education: -200 jobs

The ESD reports that with May’s job growth, Washington has regained about 102,500 jobs since the low point of the recession.

Want to learn more? Check out these useful links:
Full ESD report
Labor-market info website  
State and local trends
Employment Security website

And if you or someone you know is looking for a job, be sure to visit your local WorkSource employment center for help.

To read this story in Spanish, please click here.

Employment numbers for March are here!

According to Employment Security, there were 3,300 jobs added by Washington employers last month, following 18 months of job growth out of the past 19!

Industry sectors with job growth in March include:

Source: Employment Security Department

Out of all of Washington’s industry sectors, only education and health services reported job losses of 1,600 and 1,500 jobs respectively.

Other numbers worth mentioning:

• 289,400 people were unemployed and currently looking for a job in March, down from 365,000 in February 2010.

• Unemployment benefits were paid to 189,467 people last month, which is way down from more than 350,000 in January 2010.

Are you or someone you know looking for a job? Go here to find the location of the WorkSource office nearest you.

The Good News, the Bad News, and the Good News

The good news?  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington ranks 8th in the nation in worker pay.  The average salary/wage earned by a working Washingtonian is $50,280.  That’s great; it’s money that supports families, keeps local businesses profitable, and helps to make Washington state, even during an economic slowdown, one of the best places on earth to live.

The bad news is, Washington’s terrific average pay is cold comfort for the 288,000 unemployed people in our state.  True, employment is on the rise, and true, respected economists are saying that Washington is poised to lead the nation’s recovery from this recession.  But you can’t feed a family with statistics.  That requires a job.

Back to the good news:  While the drama in Olympia was playing out around negotiations on an operating budget, Democrats managed to craft and pass bipartisan transportation and capital budgets that will, among other things, create and sustain tens of thousands of good jobs for out-of-work men and women, particularly in Washington’s hard-hit construction industry.

To read this post in Spanish, click here.

The WSP is hiring!

With funding provided by the Legislature, the Washington State Patrol will be facilitating State Patrol Academy classes this coming October. What great timing – the WSP is currently hiring to fill 60 vacancies left by this year’s retirees.

There are many career options for troopers including: aviation, bomb squad, K-9, detectives, homeland security, drug recognition expert, executive protection and capitol security, and SWAT - just to name a few!

Do you think you have what it takes to serve with the honorable and brave men and women of the WSP? Are you a person of integrity with great judgment and a tremendous sense of honesty?

Any person interested must pass the written test and a fitness test, including sit-ups, push-ups, and a mile run in a specified amount of time.

Anyone between the ages of 19 and 60 is encouraged to apply. Testing will occur at Camp Murray April 28th through May 1st.

For more information, click here and watch the videos below:






To read this post in Spanish, click here.

New report: Jobs Now would boost state’s economy

An independent economic group says the proposed House-Senate jobs plan (House Bill 2793) would jump-start the economy in Washington state.

Here’s part of what the Economic Opportunity Institute said:

“Passing the Jobs Bonds package should be a top priority for Washington’s Legislature during the special session. Rebuilding school facilities, retrofitting for energy efficiency, improving water quality, and cleaning up the environment will immediately create badly needed jobs across the state – and build the foundation for a healthier, more sustainable economy in the future.”

You can read the entire report by clicking here with your mouse.

Because the charts they use are interesting, we’re showing two of them.

As you can see from the first chart, Washington state’s economy hit bottom during the Great Recession and is now recovering.

However, the construction industry got hit hardest of all, and the recovery hasn’t happened for them yet. Take a look at the second chart.

To put folks in hard hats back to work, the Economic Opportunity Institute suggests that lawmakers pass the jobs bill:

Tackling additional infrastructure improvements now will put people back to work not only in construction, but across sectors in all parts of the state. Workers newly employed on funded projects will turn around and spend more – on car repair, eating out, health care, home improvement, and other services.

A coalition of labor and business is supporting the jobs bill, which has also received recent support from newspapers around the state, including The Everett Herald (which said it was a “smart plan for now and the future”), The Spokesman-Review (it “should be a high priority”) and The Tacoma News Tribune (“ingenuous job creation in hard times”).

While the exact legislation may change depending on final budget negotiations, you can read more about the idea in an op-ed by Reps. Hans Dunshee and Mike Sells published in The Everett Herald: Jobs today, jobs tomorrow.

To read this post in Spanish, click here.

State unemployment rate is the lowest in three years

A bit more good news about Washington’s economy – we added about 4,200 new jobs last month, according to the state’s Employment Security Department.

Industries with the most job growth in February were leisure & hospitality, which added 2,500 jobs; construction, up 1,900 jobs; retail trade, up 1,700; transportation, warehousing & utilities, up 1,500; and professional & business services, which added 1,100 jobs.

Some sectors lost jobs, too: government, down 1,400; manufacturing, down 900; other services, down 800; financial activities, down 700; and information, down 500.

Even with those losses, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 8.2 percent in February, down from a revised rate of 8.4 percent in January. That’s the lowest unemployment rate since January 2009, when it was 7.7 percent.

Since the low point in the recession, the state has regained about 90,900 jobs.

An estimated 288,000 people (seasonally adjusted) in Washington were unemployed and looking for work in February, and about 197,000 claimed unemployment benefits. As of March 17, 76,103 workers in Washington had run out of all unemployment benefits.

Here is more information on the latest numbers and/or for help finding a job.

Charts: WA Employment Security Department
To read this blog post in Spanish, please click here.

Small businesses play big role in WA

Washington state is known for world-leading companies like Boeing, Microsoft and Starbucks – but it’s also home to 532,162 small businesses, which employ more than half of our state’s workforce.

Those are the latest numbers coming out of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Most small businesses are quite small, with the majority – 389,308 – being one-person shops, such as self-employed plumbers or lawyers.

The SBA says self-employment is a new trend in our state, and that “Female self-employment fared the best compared with other demographic groups during the decade.”

Small businesses employed 1.3 million workers out of a total private sector employment of about 2.3 million.

To wade in all sorts of economic data, click here for our state’s two-page profile.

The SBA numbers also provide a snapshot of Washington’s economy as a whole, breaking down the total number of jobs – in businesses big or small – by industry, with the exception of farms. (Why not farms? Nobody knows. It’s an economist thing.)

Here are the biggest sectors by number of total workers:

Health care & social assistance	360,500
Retail trade	309,900
Manufacturing	234,200
Hotels & restaurants	230,600
Professional, scientific, & technical services	163,100
Construction	158,300
Wholesale trade	127,200
Information	115,000

Pretty safe guess that “Manufacturing” includes airplanes and that a good chunk of those workers in “Information” are employed in the Silicon Forest east of Seattle.

Our state has traditionally been a great place for businesses of all sorts. We are Number 1 in Exports per Capita, Number 2 in the New Economy Index 2010, Number 3 in the Bureau of Business Research’s 2011 State Entrepreneurship Index, and Number 2 in Money Rates; Best States to Make A Living 2011.

Not too shabby.

To read this story in Spanish, please click here.

Get paid for helping injured workers keep their jobs

Good things come to those who keep injured workers on the job under the new Stay at Work program launched this week.

If you’re an employer and you keep injured workers doing safe, light-duties until they fully recover and can go back to their regular activities, you may be entitled to a partial reimbursement from the state Department of Labor & Industries.

The Stay at Work program was part of the Workers’ Compensation System legislation sponsored by Rep. Tami Green and passed by the Legislature last year.

“This is a win-win for both workers and employers,” said Green. “Workers recover more quickly and are less affected by lost wages. Employers save on worker’s comp premiums and the expense of hiring someone to backfill the injured worker.”

In addition to the Stay at Work program, these other reforms in the Workers’ Comp package aimed at reducing costs for employers and improving workers’ health will be launched by L&I this year: a Workers’ Compensation Provider Network, expansion of the successful Centers for Occupational Health and Education (COHE), and Structured Settlement Agreements.

Read the L&I press release here.

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

Washington jobs increase again . . . and again . . . and again

It might come as a blow to some folks we know who make a living talking about “Washington’s unfriendly business climate,” but the latest data show the Evergreen State added 12,000 new private-sector jobs in November.  

And lest you think this is a fluke, November was the 14th month out of the last 15 during which job growth in the state showed a net gain. 

We’re not out of the woods yet, of course; while the overall unemployment rate dropped again last month, it still tops 8 percent.  And for an unemployed breadwinner, knowing that someone else got a job may be nice, a cause for hope . . . but that doesn’t put bread on the table.  

That’s why House Democrats are continuing efforts to help Washington’s economy return to the upward path it was on before the Great Recession threw the world into turmoil.  It’s clear these efforts are paying off, and new legislation planned for the 2012 session will continue the positive trend.

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

State reforms lead to reduced business costs in 2012

Rep. Mike Sells

Thanks in part to legislation passed by the House and Senate last year, most businesses in Washington will see not only their workers' comp premium stay steady, but also a significant drop in unemployment insurance costs.

This would be the first time since 2007 that L&I rates have not increased, saving businesses $150 million next year. It is important to remember, however, that some businesses still might see premium increases based on their recent claims history and risk class. For example, restaurants and retail stores will see a 3% drop, but construction and forest products could see a slight increase due to the injury claims.

As far as unemployment insurance costs, most employers in the state will receive a lower tax rate in 2012, and all rate classes will drop. In fact, tax rates for employers that had no layoffs in the past four years will plummet by 71 percent, to an all-time low for that rate class (side fact: 91% of employers in rate-class 1 are small businesses with fewer than 5 employees).

In total, the tax-rate reductions will equal about $207 million, in addition to the $300 million in savings sponsored by Mike Sells, Chair of the House Labor & Workforce Development Committee, and passed by the Legislature last year. "Without the actions we took last year to bring relief to business owners still struggling through an economic slump, these rate reductions wouldn't have been possible," said Sells. "This news, combined with yesterday's 737 MAX announcement, show that the recent steps we've taken, and reforms we've implemented to respond to our businesses' needs, are paying off." 

Kris Tefft, AWB general counsel and government affairs director on employment law and workers’ compensation, agrees: “Today’s announcement reflects the value of the reform measures passed in 2011, without which employers would surely have seen rate increases next year. We’ve appreciated the opportunity to make our case that this is not the time for any sort of rate increase on business,” said Tefft.


Here's a handy fact sheet and FAQs from ESD's website on the adjusted rates.

To read this blog post in Spanish, go here.

House Democrats applaud news of Renton landing the 737 MAX, contract deal

No one knows airplanes better, and no region of the world builds them better, than Washington State. That’s the message House Democrats in Olympia conveyed as news broke of a tentative deal between Boeing and its machinists’ union, leading to the announcement that Renton will be the home of the new 737 MAX.

Democratic caucus leader on the Pegasus Project, Larry Springer points to the decade of work between the HDC and the aerospace community to land the 737 Dreamliner and the tanker as the reason why the MAX will be built here. “We’ve championed new investments, funding, and reforms in recent years, fostering growth and jobs in the industry.” They include:

• Workforce development scholarships and grants worth millions to train aerospace workers 
• New educational state facilities providing new resources to manufacturers and workers 
• Aerospace training programs through state community and technical colleges 
• Streamlined permitting processes for Boeing and its aerospace manufacturing partners 
• Reforms at L&I and ESD, which reduced premium rates for workers’ comp and unemployment insurance 

Co-leader on the Pegasus Project, Marcie Maxwell, recounted some personal memories. “I’ve watched the maiden voyage of every 737 for many years from my Renton home. Many of my neighbors are proud of their work designing and building generations of Boeing planes. This is great news for Boeing, for Renton, and for the hundreds of suppliers across 29 counties in our state.

“The bottom line is, we’re building more airplanes faster and better than ever before,” said House Democratic Caucus Chair Eric Pettigrew. “And winning the new 737 MAX in Renton is a sign that we’ll be doing so for a long, long time.”

Read the full press release here.


Check out this link highlighting some recent posts that contributed to today's good news.

To read this blog post in Spanish, click here.

Governor rolls out action agenda for aerospace industry

With a strong emphasis on enhancing our state's education system and workforce development, Governor Gregoire announced her strategy proposals today to ensure Washington remains the preeminent hub of aerospace design and manufacturing and keeps growing good-paying jobs.

The strategy developed by a partnership of business, labor and government leaders, was rolled out at Renton Technical College this morning.

“There is no question that Washington state is the best place in the world to build the Boeing 737-MAX jetliner,” Gregoire said. “And I believe that when all is said and done – Boeing will make the best decision and build this game-changing aircraft in this state. But I never take anything for granted – especially in a global market where business can go anywhere at a speed unknown even a decade ago.”

Gregoire’s proposal includes:

• Investing $450,000 to expand the governor’s Launch Year program and provide 12 high schools with aerospace curriculum support to prepare high school students to enter the workforce. The investment would also provide two Skills Centers with aerospace manufacturing support to help train additional high school students;
• Spending $250,000 to add “Project Lead the Way” courses at 10 high schools – courses where students learn to problem-solve using their science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills;
• Putting $7.6 million toward expanding capacity at the University of Washington and Washington State University to enroll 775 more engineering students; and
•  Investing $1.5 million, with additional support from companies, foundations and donors, to create a Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation at UW and WSU to support university research that will grow the aerospace sector and lead to new jobs in our state.

Gregoire also proposed creating a new Governor’s Aerospace Office to provide focus, direction, oversight and coordination to grow Washington state’s aerospace industry. The office will also gather industry intelligence to advise the governor in advancing Washington’s competitiveness nationally and globally.

Gregoire's plan also includes asking the Legislature to extend an existing aerospace tax incentive for pre-production expenses from 2024 to 2034 to realign the lifespan of the incentive to match the anticipated production duration of the 737-MAX.

Click here to read Gregoire's news release.  

For handouts and presentations, click here.

House members meet with aerospace employers in Everett

On the day following the delivery of the first 787 Dreamliner, members of the House Labor & Workforce Development Committee held a work session just outside the main gates of the Boeing facility in Everett to address the stagnant labor market and discuss strategies for providing manufacturing jobs, and the skilled workers, needed to climb out of economic doldrums.

The committee met at the Everett Community College Corporate & Continuing Education Center, where an overview of the employment landscape was provided by the state Employment Security Department. Next, the committee heard from aerospace employers who emphasized the importance of motivating the next generation of aerospace workers, and shared ways they actively promote their industry amongst students still in high school. Replenishing the engineering workforce is a must, as the average age of their current workforce is 58 years old and nearing retirement.

Aerospace training providers from state colleges, apprenticeship programs and private facilities around the state explained their capacity problem - forced to turn away interested students due to lacking state support and partnerships to expand their programs.        

It's an uphill battle in many ways, and one that lacks an Apollo Program or some similar landmark that fueled the dreams and aspirations of the retiring workforce.

"Collaborations between Washington's employers and our state government will be key in providing these career pathways and skilled workers," said Rep. Chris Reykdal. "The grants, facilities, and curricula the state is providing -and hopefully expand further in the future - will make sure our good-paying jobs are filled by our state's students."

The work session ended with a tour of the Everett assembly lines by the attending Boeing staff; a sight that shows in dramatic fashion the sheer magnitude of our state's resources, challenges, and opportunities.

To read this blog post in Spanish, please go here.

Obama's Jobs Plan and its effect on Washington

In an effort to end the economic malaise plaguing the entire country, President Obama recently unveiled a plan to stimulate job growth, which includes investments in every state. "The purpose of the American Jobs Act is simple: to put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working," President Obama stated during his speech at the joint session of Congress.

The plan has five key components:

• Tax Cuts to Help America’s Small Businesses Hire and Grow
• Putting Workers Back on the Job While Rebuilding and Modernizing America
• Pathways Back to Work for Americans Looking for Jobs
• More Money in the Pockets of Every American Worker and Family
• Fully Paid for as Part of the President’s Long-Term Deficit Reduction Plan 

The details of the plan and how it will impact Washington are beginning to make their way to us here. According to White House staffers, the president’s plan could mean $741 million for Washington’s infrastructure, which would support 10,000 local jobs.

The HDC is hopeful the plan can be enacted by Congress soon in order to help put our state and nation’s economy back on solid ground and get people back to work as soon as possible.

You can watch the enhanced version of the President's Address to Congress, which features graphs, charts and other facts that influenced the President's decision making. You can read more and follow the latest development at the White House blog.

American Jobs Act Address Enhanced Graphics

View more documents from White House

To read this blog post in Spanish, please go here.

 

Making Labor Day extra special for Washington's workforce

While news from the Job Front may be a bit bleak across the country, our state's Employment Security Department is doing all it can to help employers find help, and help the unemployed make an employment connection.

Already this year, WorkSource has helped more than 4,000 job seekers navigate the complex hiring process at Boeing and other firms through special workshops in Skagit, Snohomish, King, Kitsap and Pierce counties.

In Snohomish County alone, the heart of Washington’s aerospace industry, 22 percent report getting hired after using the important skills they learned.

There is similar success for recently discharged veterans. In the Tri-Cities, WorkSource workshops taught by military veterans show fellow vets how to master lengthy and complicated civilian job applications. More than half of those receiving such services have been hired.

And new training partnerships between WorkSource, community colleges and private companies are helping other vets get jobs in software testing in Redmond and advanced composite manufacturing in Bremerton.

“Labor Day is a good time to reflect on the status of our work force and the effectiveness of our workforce development efforts,” said state Employment Security Director Paul Trause. “We may not be able to create jobs for businesses, but we can help employers and job seekers fill the vacancies that exist as quickly as possible.”

WorkSource is a statewide partnership of Employment Security, local workforce development councils, other state and local agencies, colleges and nonprofit organizations that work together to provide free employment and training services to job seekers and employers.

WorkSource also can help employers recruit and screen for qualified workers, apply for employment tax breaks and qualify for subsidized employee training. Learn more at: http://www.go2worksource.com/

Job gains in state steady, but not enough to drop unemployment rate

New monthly numbers released be the state Employment Security Department show a consistent increase in new jobs over the past 11 months. But those numbers are offset by job losses and a stagnant economy. 5,700 jobs were added in July, but the unemployment rate remained at 9.3 percent.

Year over year, more than 37,000 jobs have been added in Washington, accounting for a gain of 46,000 private-sector jobs and a loss of 8,800 government jobs.

According to ESD, industries that posted gains in July were leisure and hospitality, which added 1,700 jobs; manufacturing, up 1,600; retail trade, up 1,200; transportation, warehousing and utilities, up 1,200; professional and business, up 1,100; financial activities, up 1,000; construction, up 800; and government, up 500.

Jobs were lost in other services, down 2,200, and information, down 1,000.

If you or someone you know is looking for work or may qualify for unemployment insurance, visit: ESD's website here.

To read this blog post in Spanish, please go here.