Administrative Rules proposed for conducting investigations and appeals – City of Seattle Chapter 140.

Office of Labor Standards invites public comments until August 4, 2017

Seattle – The Seattle Office of Labor Standards (OLS) has proposed Chapter 140 (SHRR 140), Administrative Rules for the practices and procedures in conducting City of Seattle labor standards investigations and appeals. Members of the public have until August 4, 2017 at 5:00pm PST to comment on these proposed rules. The full text of the rules is available at:

http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/LaborStandards/17_0712_Chapter%20140_final.pdf

Please send comments by email to Jenn.round@seattle.gov or by regular mail to:

Seattle Office of Labor Standards
810 Third Ave., Suite 375
Seattle, WA 98104-1627
Attn: Jenn Round, OLS Enforcement Supervisor/Chapter 140
You can also comment by calling 206-684-4500.

Chapter 140 will provide the framework for all future OLS investigations under Seattle’s labor standards laws. Currently, OLS enforces the following labor standards laws:[1]

(a)          Paid Sick Time and Safe Time Ordinance (PSST), SMC 14.16;
(b)          Fair Chance Employment Ordinance (FCE), SMC 14.17;
(c)           Minimum Wage Ordinance (MW), SMC 14.19;
(d)          Wage Theft Ordinance (WT), SMC 14.20; and
(e)          Secure Scheduling (SS) Ordinance, SMC 14.22.

To date, OLS has used procedures outlined in the Seattle Office for Civil Rights’ Chapter 40, which establishes procedures in investigations of illegal discrimination. The draft rules in Chapter 140 set out procedures that reflect ordinance revisions from the Wage Theft Prevention and Labor Standards Harmonization Ordinance of 2015 including company-wide investigations that protect the identifying information of complainants and witnesses.

Directed Investigations

The proposed Administrative Rules address OLS’s planned Directed Investigations program, in which OLS will conduct investigations based on tips from the public and employees, information from other enforcement agencies regarding labor standards violations by national employers that operate in Seattle, and research of businesses in industries that employ large numbers of vulnerable and low-income workers, including workers of color, immigrants and women and other groups.

To date, OLS has primarily initiated investigations after receiving complaints of labor standards violations. While OLS previously used directed investigations in a limited capacity for the Fair Chance Employment ordinance, the office will soon expand the use of directed investigations for all labor standards.[2] The Directed Investigation program as outlined in Chapter 140 clarifies OLS’s ability to initiate an investigation without a complaint if the Director has reason to believe that a violation has occurred or will occur, or when circumstances show that violations are likely to occur within a class of businesses because the workforce contains significant numbers of employees who are vulnerable to labor standards violations or because the workforce is unlikely to volunteer information regarding such violations.

Employee Right to Appeal

The draft Administrative Rules also introduce a right for employees to appeal an OLS Director’s Order to the Hearing Examiner, a separate and independent office of the City charged with conducting fair and impartial administrative hearings. Employees can appeal on the grounds that OLS’s investigation was not supported by a preponderance of the evidence.

To develop aspects of these proposed rules, OLS consulted with the Labor Standards Advisory Commission, a 15-member independent entity of the OLS that is comprised of business, worker advocate and worker voices.

For more information, visit http://www.seattle.gov/laborstandards/enforcement or call 206-684-4500.

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[1] OLS will also enforce the Hotel Employees Health and Safety Initiative (HEHS), SMC 14.25 after issuing final administrative rules.

[2] Directed investigations for Secure Scheduling will not begin until at least one year after implementation of the ordinance (January 1, 2018).

Source: Labor Standards