HB 2136 — Concerning the farm internship program.

H-3933.3SUBSTITUTEH-2223.1HOUSE HOUSE BILL 2136State of Washington66th Legislature2020Legislature2019 Regular SessionByHouseSessionByRepresentatives RuralOrcutt, Development,Blake, Agriculture,and &ShewmakeRead Naturalfirst Resourcestime (originally03/05/19.Referred sponsoredto byCommittee Representativeson Orcutt,Rural Blake,Development, andAgriculture, Shewmake)READ& FIRSTNatural TIMEResources.AN 01/29/20.AN ACT Relating to extending the farm internship program;

reenacting and amending RCW 49.46.010;49.12.470;

addingamending a2017 newc section150 toss chapter2 49.12and RCW;3 (uncodified);

addingand aproviding newexpiration sectiondates.BE toIT chapterENACTED 50.04BY RCW;THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:Sec.

adding a new section to chapter 51.16 RCW;

and providing expiration dates.BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:NEW SECTION.  Sec.

ARCW new49.12.470 sectionand is2017 addedc to150 chapters 49.121 RCWare each amended to read as follows:(1) The director shall establish a farm internship pilot project until December 1, 2017, for the employment of farm interns on small farms under special certificates at wages, if any, as authorized by the department and subject to such limitations as to time, number, proportion, and length of service as provided in this section and as prescribed by the department.(2)department. A small farm may employ no more than three interns at one time under this section.(3) A small farm must apply for a special certificate on a form made available by the director.

The pilot project consists of the following counties:

San Juan, Skagit, King, Whatcom, Kitsap, Pierce, Jefferson, Spokane, Yakima, Chelan, Grant, Island, Snohomish, Kittitas, Lincoln, Thurston, Walla Walla, Clark, Cowlitz, and Lewis.(2) A small farm may employ no more than three interns at one time under this section.(3) A small farm must apply for a special certificate on a form made available by the director.

A farmfarmworker intern may be paid at wages specified in the certificate only during the effective period of the certificate and for the duration of the internship.(6) If the department denies an application for a special certificate, notice of denial must be mailed to the farm.

and(iii) Where all the owners or partners of the farm provide regular labor to and participate in the management of the farm, and own or lease the productive assets of the farm.(12) The department shall monitor and evaluate the farm internships authorized by this section and report to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 31, 2024.((2017))2024.

and other matters relevant to assessing farm internships authorized in this section.(13) This section expires December 31, 2025.NEW((2019))2025.Sec. SECTION.  Sec.

A2017 newc section150 iss added2 to(uncodified) chapteris 50.04amended RCW to read as follows:(1)follows:This Exceptact forexpires servicesDecember subject31, to((2019))2025.Sec. RCW 50.44.010, 50.44.020, 50.44.030, or 50.50.010, the term "employment" does not include service performed in agricultural labor by a farm intern providing his or her services under a farm internship program as established in section 1 of this act.(2) For purposes of this section, "agricultural labor" means:(a) Services performed on a farm, in the employ of any person, in connection with the cultivation of the soil, or in connection with raising or harvesting any agricultural or horticultural commodity, including raising, shearing, feeding, caring for, training, and management of livestock, bees, poultry, and furbearing animals and wildlife, or in the employ of the owner or tenant or other operator of a farm in connection with the operation, management, conservation, improvement, or maintenance of such farm and its tools and equipment;(b) Services performed in packing, packaging, grading, storing, or delivering to storage, or to market or to a carrier for transportation to market, any agricultural or horticultural commodity;

but only if such service is performed as an incident to ordinary farming operations.

The exclusions from the term "employment" provided in this subsection (2)(b) are not applicable with respect to commercial packing houses, commercial storage establishments, commercial canning, commercial freezing, or any other commercial processing or with respect to services performed in connection with the cultivation, raising, harvesting, and processing of oysters or raising and harvesting of mushrooms;

or(c) Direct local sales of any agricultural or horticultural commodity after its delivery to a terminal market for distribution or consumption.(3) This section expires December 31, 2025.Sec.

RCW2017 49.46.010 and 2015 c 299150 s 3 are(uncodified) eachis reenacted and amended to read as follows:Asfollows:2014 usedc in131 thiss chapter:(1)2 "Director"expires meansDecember the31, director((2019))2025.--- ofEND labor--- and industries;(2) "Employ" includes to permit to work;(3) "Employee" includes any individual employed by an employer but shall not include:(a) Any individual (i) employed as a hand harvest laborer and paid on a piece rate basis in an operation which has been, and is generally and customarily recognized as having been, paid on a piece rate basis in the region of employment;

(ii) who commutes daily from his or her permanent residence to the farm on which he or she is employed;

and (iii) who has been employed in agriculture less than thirteen weeks during the preceding calendar year;(b) Any individual employed in casual labor in or about a private home, unless performed in the course of the employer's trade, business, or profession;(c) Any individual employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity or in the capacity of outside salesperson as those terms are defined and delimited by rules of the director.

However, those terms shall be defined and delimited by the human resources director pursuant to chapter 41.06 RCW for employees employed under the director of personnel's jurisdiction;(d) Any individual engaged in the activities of an educational, charitable, religious, state or local governmental body or agency, or nonprofit organization where the employer-employee relationship does not in fact exist or where the services are rendered to such organizations gratuitously.

If the individual receives reimbursement in lieu of compensation for normally incurred out-of-pocket expenses or receives a nominal amount of compensation per unit of voluntary service rendered, an employer-employee relationship is deemed not to exist for the purpose of this section or for purposes of membership or qualification in any state, local government, or publicly supported retirement system other than that provided under chapter 41.24 RCW;(e) Any individual employed full time by any state or local governmental body or agency who provides voluntary services but only with regard to the provision of the voluntary services.

The voluntary services and any compensation therefor shall not affect or add to qualification, entitlement, or benefit rights under any state, local government, or publicly supported retirement system other than that provided under chapter 41.24 RCW;(f) Any newspaper vendor, carrier, or delivery person selling or distributing newspapers on the street, to offices, to businesses, or from house to house and any freelance news correspondent or "stringer" who, using his or her own equipment, chooses to submit material for publication for free or a fee when such material is published;(g) Any carrier subject to regulation by Part 1 of the Interstate Commerce Act;(h) Any individual engaged in forest protection and fire prevention activities;(i) Any individual employed by any charitable institution charged with child care responsibilities engaged primarily in the development of character or citizenship or promoting health or physical fitness or providing or sponsoring recreational opportunities or facilities for young people or members of the armed forces of the United States;(j) Any individual whose duties require that he or she reside or sleep at the place of his or her employment or who otherwise spends a substantial portion of his or her work time subject to call, and not engaged in the performance of active duties;(k) Any resident, inmate, or patient of a state, county, or municipal correctional, detention, treatment or rehabilitative institution;(l) Any individual who holds a public elective or appointive office of the state, any county, city, town, municipal corporation or quasi municipal corporation, political subdivision, or any instrumentality thereof, or any employee of the state legislature;(m) All vessel operating crews of the Washington state ferries operated by the department of transportation;(n) Any individual employed as a seaman on a vessel other than an American vessel;(o) Until December 31, 2025, any farm intern providing his or her services to a small farm which has a special certificate issued under section 1 of this act;(p) An individual who is at least sixteen years old but under twenty-one years old, in his or her capacity as a player for a junior ice hockey team that is a member of a regional, national, or international league and that contracts with an arena owned, operated, or managed by a public facilities district created under chapter 36.100 RCW;(4) "Employer" includes any individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust, or any person or group of persons acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee;(5) "Occupation" means any occupation, service, trade, business, industry, or branch or group of industries or employment or class of employment in which employees are gainfully employed;(6) "Retail or service establishment" means an establishment seventy-five percent of whose annual dollar volume of sales of goods or services, or both, is not for resale and is recognized as retail sales or services in the particular industry;(7) "Wage" means compensation due to an employee by reason of employment, payable in legal tender of the United States or checks on banks convertible into cash on demand at full face value, subject to such deductions, charges, or allowances as may be permitted by rules of the director.NEW SECTION.  Sec.

4.

A new section is added to chapter 51.16 RCW to read as follows:(1) The department shall adopt rules to provide special workers' compensation risk class or classes for farm interns providing agricultural labor pursuant to a farm internship program under section 1 of this act.

The rules must include any requirements for obtaining a special risk class that must be met by small farms.(2) This section expires December 31, 2025.--- END ---