03/29/2023 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE

             HB 88-WAREHOUSE WORK QUOTA INFORMATION                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:18:06 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SUMNER announced  that the next order of  business would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL NO. 88, "An Act  relating to work quotas for employees                                                               
at  warehouse   distribution  centers;   and  providing   for  an                                                               
effective date."                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:18:36 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GEORGE  RAUSCHER,  Alaska State  Legislature,  as                                                               
prime  sponsor, presented  HB  88.   He  paraphrased the  sponsor                                                               
statement [copy included in the  committee packet], which read as                                                               
follows [original punctuation provided]:                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     House  Bill  88  Warehouse  Worker  Protection  Act  is                                                                    
     designed  to  provide  transparency for  warehouse  and                                                                    
     logistic workers when  they agree to a  pay scale based                                                                    
     on a quota  or production goal. HB 88  is also designed                                                                    
     to    provide   protections    for   workers    against                                                                    
     counterproductive methods  employers miss the  mark on,                                                                    
     to speed up production and save on costs.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     Alaska  is one  of  the most  bountiful  states in  the                                                                    
     country with  its salmon runs,  wild game,  and natural                                                                    
     resources.  The abundance  of the  state is  a blessing                                                                    
     but there is still a need  for supplies and goods to be                                                                    
     imported,  stored,  and   delivered.  The  workers  who                                                                    
     manage the  logistics of these  imports are  the unsung                                                                    
     heroes of Alaskan food security  and supply chain. With                                                                    
     over  90% of  food  coming from  outside Alaska,  these                                                                    
     workers   are   the   lifeline  to   keep   the   state                                                                    
     operational. Warehouse  and logistic workers  face many                                                                    
     challenges in  the workplace, HB 88  will allow workers                                                                    
     to focus on delivering  goods and maintaining a healthy                                                                    
     supply chain while also ensuring  they are able to work                                                                    
     in a  safe environment where employers  don't encourage                                                                    
     speed over safety.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:20:37 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
RYAN MCKEE,  Staff, Representative George Rauscher,  Alaska State                                                               
Legislature,   on  behalf   of  Representative   Rauscher,  prime                                                               
sponsor,  paraphrased  the  sectional  analysis on  HB  88  [copy                                                               
included  in   the  committee  packet]  which   read  as  follows                                                               
[original punctuation provided]:                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Sec 1.  Amends AS 23.10 by adding new sections                                                                         
                                                                                                                              
     Article  9. Work  Quotas at  Warehouse     Distribution                                                                  
     centers.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
          Section  23.10.700.  -  Specifies  what  types  of                                                                  
     employers  the  newly   added  sections  AS  23.10.700-                                                                    
     23.10.725   apply  to.   Specifically,   100  or   more                                                                    
     employees  at a  single warehouse  distribution center,                                                                    
     or 1,000  or more  employees at  one or  more warehouse                                                                    
     distribution centers in the state.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
          Section  23.10.705. -  Specifies when  an employer                                                                  
     that is  subject to AS  23.10.700   23.10.725  needs to                                                                    
     provide  a  written  description  of  each  quota  that                                                                    
     applies  to the  employee.  It  further describes  what                                                                    
     needs   to   be   included  in   that   written   quota                                                                    
     description.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
          Section 23.10.710.    States what  specifically an                                                                  
     employer  is  not  allowed  to  require  in  order  for                                                                    
     employees to meet quota expectations.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
          Section  23.10.715.    States  that  a current  or                                                                  
     former  employee may  request, orally  or in  writing a                                                                    
     request  for a  quota description.  And specifies  what                                                                    
     needs  to be  included  in  the request  as  well as  a                                                                    
         timeline for when an employee will receive the                                                                         
     requested description.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
        Section 23.10.720.  States that an employee may                                                                       
      seek an injunction in the superior court to enjoying                                                                      
     an employer violating AS 23.10.700-23.10.715.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
        Section 23.10.725.     Provides definitions for                                                                       
     terms listed in the above language.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     Sec 2.  Sets an effective date of January 1st, 2025.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. MCKEE added  that the proposed legislation has  a zero fiscal                                                               
note.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:22:55 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
PATRICK  FITZGERALD,  Political   Coordinator,  Alaska  Teamsters                                                               
Local  959, gave  invited  testimony in  support of  HB  88.   He                                                               
thanked the  bill sponsor, staff,  and the committee.   He stated                                                               
that the  proposed legislation would  create two  protections for                                                               
warehouse and logistics workers  against predatory practices.  He                                                               
stated  the first  protection would  be  transparency for  quota-                                                               
based  paid   positions  in  warehouses.     This   would  ensure                                                               
notification of quota  rates at the beginning  of employment, and                                                               
any changes  thereafter.   It would also  create a  mechanism for                                                               
employees  to  request  their  work-speed   data  used  to  track                                                               
progress.  He stated that the  bill would also add protections to                                                               
reduce workplace accidents in quota-based  jobs, such as allowing                                                               
time for  breaks and  defining reasonable  workloads.   He stated                                                               
that  the proposed  bill  would  protect those  who  work in  the                                                               
warehouses  that store  95 percent  of the  food coming  into the                                                               
state.  It would also  conduct logistics for the materials needed                                                               
to build and maintain these  warehouses, ensuring rural Alaska is                                                               
connected to  a strong systematic  supply of food,  medicine, and                                                               
other  goods.   He urged  the committee  to support  the proposed                                                               
legislation.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:25:08 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER  pointed to  the definition of  "quota" in                                                               
the proposed  bill.  He questioned  the line between a  quota and                                                               
an employer's expectation of productivity.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  RAUSCHER  answered  that   he  had  worked  in  a                                                               
warehouse  and expressed  the understanding  that  quota means  a                                                               
certain amount of  duties would be performed in  a certain amount                                                               
of time.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:26:19 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX  requested examples of problems  the proposed                                                               
legislation would address.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   RAUSCHER  explained   his  personal   experience                                                               
working in a  warehouse which made roofing shingles.   He pointed                                                               
out that there  was a quota for moving packages  onto a pallet in                                                               
preparation for it to be loaded  onto a truck which had a certain                                                               
departure time.   He described a situation  where the temperature                                                               
was extremely  hot, but the  workers were still required  to meet                                                               
the quota.  He deferred to Mr. Fitzgerald for further examples.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
3:28:12 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.  FITZGERALD  responded  that the  legislation  would  provide                                                               
transparency, and  in relation to  this he gave the  example that                                                               
as a  young man he had  no problems working in  a warehouse which                                                               
supplied  snacks  to  service stations;  however,  another  older                                                               
individual, who had  worked in warehouses before,  had never been                                                               
informed of  quotas, and because  of this, the  individual missed                                                               
the quotas daily.  He  stated that the proposed legislation would                                                               
ensure against this.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:29:41 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   RUFFRIDGE   requested  examples   of   warehouse                                                               
distribution centers in Alaska with 100 or more employees.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR. FITZGERALD responded  that Safeway, U.S. Foods,  and the Odom                                                               
Corporation each have  over 100 workers in their  warehouses.  He                                                               
stated that  he could follow  up with more information  after the                                                               
meeting.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE  questioned the  reasoning for  having a                                                               
100-employee limit, as the  proposed legislation seems reasonable                                                               
for a warehouse of any size.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER  responded that  having a  sizable number                                                               
of workers  would create  a different  scenario than  a warehouse                                                               
with one  or two workers.   He  surmised that with  larger quotas                                                               
with  larger employees,  the numbers  become more  important than                                                               
the people.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:31:45 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SADDLER   questioned  whether  quotas   would  be                                                               
negotiated in a contract.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR. FITZGERALD  answered that this  would depend on  the contract                                                               
and the bargaining unit.   He pointed out that longshoremen would                                                               
have this  in order  to allow the  ships to leave  the port  at a                                                               
scheduled time.   He  expressed the  opinion that  every contract                                                               
could have this.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:33:18 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SUMNER announced that HB 88 was held over.