The state Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has issued the following announcement:

L&I is extending its quarterly filing deadline for State Fund employers to submit their workers’ compensation premiums from midnight Jan. 31 to midnight Feb. 3. Employers will be allowed this extra time because of the recent snow storm that shut down businesses in much of the state.

“So many businesses were hard hit by loss of power and access to computers during last week’s ice storm,” said Beth Dupre, Assistant Director for Insurance Services. “Many lost several days of productive work. It’s our hope that this extension will help our customers as they recover from this disruption.”

If employers file electronically or by mail and pay by check, they may deduct the penalty and interest from the total due. If employers file and pay electronically, they should pay the full amount due, but the penalty and interest will be credited to their account and available for the next filing quarter. It can also be refunded upon request.

The fastest way to file is at www.QuickFile.Lni.wa.gov. No password is required and employers can pay with paper or e-check, sign up for an email reminder, and print out a copy of their report. For access to account details, employers can file through the online Claim & Account Center.

Shortly after the passage of 1183, the WRA began its work to implement the policies voters approved.

Of immediate and greatest concern during the transition were:

• That supply would remain available, allowing businesses to continue running as usual until the transition was complete
• That licensees had alternative options for acquiring product while the state remained the sole supplier of spirits.

The WRA initially voiced concern over the Liquor Control Board’s proposed changes and supplier buy-back agreements. These agreements would:

• Limit the amount of product to those vendors that agreed to buy back their inventory by the time the LCB is required to stop operating retail stores, beginning June 1
• End all abilities to special order product

The WRA asked the Liquor Control Board to reconsider the proposed changes and hold off until March 1 to adopt any proposals that would impact licensees, and short of that, allow for a process for licensees to special order through March 1, while the state maintained its exclusive control over the sale of spirits.

The Liquor Control Board listened to our concerns and worked with suppliers over the past several weeks to develop a final proposal and plan to divest its activity in the retail of spirits. Wednesday, the Liquor Control Board informed us that vendors representing 99% of listed product agreed to the terms of the supplier Buy Back Agreement. Additionally, the Liquor Control Board informed us that licensees will still be able to special order product when purchasing a minimum of one case. Here is a link to the items that will need to be special ordered by the case: http://www.liq.wa.gov/publications/LiqPurchasing/Price%20Book/SpecialOrderPriceList.pdf.  Items marked with a “B” in the merchandise symbol column will be available by the case.

The WRA is grateful for the work of the Liquor Control Board and staff to reach this outcome, and will continue to partner with the board through the transition period.

Effective immediately, all restaurants in Washington are required to post updated minimum wage posters in their establishments. However, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) is only requiring businesses to download and print out a one page update available free at http://wra.cc/2012minwage.

After downloading the document, L&I requires businesses to post next to the “Your Rights as a Worker” poster issued in 2011. For questions regarding the poster, restaurateurs can call the Washington Restaurant Association directly at (800) 225-7166.

As of January 1, Washington’s minimum wage is now $9.04 per hour, while wages for employees between the ages of 14 and 15 may be paid 85 percent of the hourly minimum ($7.68). Employers must pay workers 16 years old or older at the current rate of $9.04.

Before the passage of Initiative 1183, the Liquor Control Board was petitioned by the City of Seattle to open WAC 314-11-070, regarding the hours of liquor service and submitted a proposal for the board’s consideration to extend service hours beyond 2 a.m. under certain circumstances. The board unanimously agreed to begin a stakeholder process to review this WAC in October. However, with the passage of 1183, the board has had to focus its attention on implementation of the initiative, postponing work on this issue.

The board’s proposed new timeline will now begin in March, with public meetings across the state in the following communities:

Seattle

Bellingham

Everett

Tacoma

Olympia

Vancouver

Tri-Cities

Yakima

Spokane

Public hearings should wrap up in May, and if the board approves a proposal, will move forward with rulemaking. If a change is adopted, it would become effective in late September.

The city of Seattle’s proposal, outlined the below alternative to current service hours:

Local governments (by ordinance) would establish an “extended hours service area,” where on-premise establishments would be able to serve liquor between 2 and 6 a.m., under an “extended hours endorsement”.

In order for an area to be recognized as an extended hours service area, the local authority must explain in the ordinance:

-          The rationale of proposed boundaries

-          Describe the boundaries in a way the Board can determine which licensees fall into the area

-          Boundaries are understandable by the general public

-          An explanation why the local jurisdiction is seeking extended hours

-          Statements of support by residents and businesses

-          Statement from local law enforcement on the impacts

-          Any additional restrictions for the extended service endorsement

The Board will then have the authority to recognize an extended service hours area or not. If the area is recognized and approved for extended service, the local jurisdiction must provide annual data about the impacts to public safety the extension of service hours has had. The Liquor Control Board will then review the data after the first, third and fifth year and then every fifth year after that when considering endorsement renewal.

The proposal only allows for spirits, beer and wine restaurant licensees, beer/wine restaurant licensees and nightclub licensees to qualify for an endorsement. The endorsement would also carry a fee that has not yet been determined.

On Dec. 8, when 1183 became law, several things immediately took effect:

• A wine retailer reseller license became available for retail-retail sales in 24 liter transaction
• The ban on central warehousing for spirits and wine was repealed
• The ban on quantity discounts was repealed
• The LCB’s authority to set uniform pricing was repealed

Accordingly, the LCB needed to adopt emergency rules to implement the new license, and establish guidelines on central warehousing.

Last week, we reported that the LCB issued draft language to stakeholders, then adopted the rules less than 48 hours later, and did not allow for public comment. The WRA raised concerns over this process, in addition to the requirements for physical barriers separating inventory purchased by different ownership entities, effectively making our ability to co-op very difficult.

Since then, we have continued to meet with the LCB and staff on this issue. The emergency rules will be in effect for 120 days, and we are hopeful language that complies with the intent of the initiative can be reached.

Amendments to 1183 proposed
Even before the decisive victory of 1183, opponents of the initiative had signaled they intended to seek amendments should voters support I-1183.

Since then, two proposals have emerged from industry stakeholders. The first, would seek to “simplify” liquor taxes. However, proponents have suggested that a “simplification” would require pushing the numerous sale and liter taxes to the wholesale level. This approach would impact restaurateurs, since we purchase product at the wholesale level.
The second proposal would change the distributor fees set up and approved by voters in the initiative. Recall, I-1183 requires distributor licensees to pay 10% of their sales to the LCB as a licensing fee, and all of the licensing fees collected from distributors must make up $150 million by May 31, 2013. If it falls short, the LCB has the authority to charge distributor licensees on a prorated basis, to make up the difference. This approach was key for several reasons: foremost, it was important the transition to a privatized system did not negatively impact the state budget, ensuring $150 million is collected will accomplish this objective.

Secondly, requiring that $150 million be reached, in effect, compensates the state for a valuable asset – some legislative proposals suggested that just a portion of the state’s distribution system was valued at $300 million. Several new approaches have been proposed, which would push the $150 million fee onto micro-distilleries or manufacturers acting as their own distributor, and another would significantly increase distributor fees to as much as 25 percent.

As the lead sponsor of Initiative 1183, the WRA will continue to advocate for the policies to be implemented as the voters approved in November. Additionally, any change to the initiative in the first two years of its passage would require a super majority vote of the Legislature.