Washington House approves unemployment benefits for striking workers

Bill Lucia

(Washington State Standard) Workers who are on strike or locked out of their workplace by their employer due to a labor dispute would gain access to unemployment insurance benefits under a bill the Washington state House approved in the early morning hours Tuesday, after working through the night.

The bill passed on a 53-44 vote. Five Democrats voted with Republicans against it. Democrats voting “no” included Reps. Mike Chapman, Debra Entenman, Larry Springer, My-Linh Thai and Amy Walen.

Under the legislation, striking workers would become eligible for unemployment insurance on the second Sunday following the first day of a strike and could then begin to receive benefit payments after an additional one-week waiting period. The bill would also remove a section of state law that disqualifies employees from unemployment insurance during employer-initiated labor lockouts.

Lawmakers amended the bill on the floor.

These changes included adding a four-week limit on benefits for striking workers and language to shift the cost of the benefits onto the employer involved in the labor dispute, rather than spreading the expense across the unemployment insurance system. Another amendment specified that benefits may not be paid during strikes prohibited by federal or state law or a court order.