Washington Administrative Code › Title 296 - Labor and Industries, Department of › Chapter 296-17 - General reporting rules, audit and recordkeeping, rates and rating system for Washington workers' compensation insurance › Section 296-17-31021 - Units of exposure

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
What is a
			 "unit of exposure"?
A unit of exposure is the measure which is used to help
				determine the premium you will pay. For most businesses the unit of exposure is
				the
hours
worked by their employees. Because not
				all employees are compensated based on the hours they work, we have developed
				reporting alternatives to make reporting to us easier. Those alternatives are
				outlined in subsection (2) of this section. In other cases, the department
may
authorize some other method in assuming workers hours for
				premium calculation purposes.
(2)
What are the alternatives to actual
			 hours worked?
The exceptions are:
*
Apartment house managers, caretakers, domestic, home
				care or similar employees:
To determine the number of hours you need to
				report to us, divide an employee's total compensation, including housing and
				utility allowances, by the average hourly wage for the classification. The
				total number of work hours to be reported for each employee is not to exceed
				520 hours per quarter. You will need to call us at 360-902-4817 to obtain
				average hourly wage information.
*
Commission employees - Outside (such as, but not
				limited to, real estate and insurance sales):
You must select one of the
				following methods to report your commission employees - Outside:
* Actual hours worked; or
* Assumed hours of eight hours per day for part-time employees
				or one hundred-sixty hours per month for full-time employees.
All outside commission employees of an employer must be
				reported by the same method. You cannot report some outside commission
				employees based on the actual hours they work and others using the eight hours
				per day for part-time employees or one hundred-sixty hours per month for
				full-time employees method.
*
Drywall - Stocking, installation, scrapping, taping,
				and texturing:
Premiums are based on material installed/finished rather
				than the hours it took to install/finish the drywall.
*
Horse racing - Excluding jockeys:
Employers in
				the horse racing industry pay premiums on a monthly or daily rate on employees
				based on a type of license their employees hold rather than the hours the
				employees work. Premiums are collected by the Washington horse racing
				commission.
*
Jockeys:
Report ten hours for each race/mount or
				for any day in which duties are reported.
*
Pilots and flight crew members:
Pilots and
				flight crew members having flight duties during a work shift including
				preflight time shall have premium calculated by utilizing daily readings logged
				per federal requirements of the aircraft tachometer time: Provided, That if the
				total tachometer time for any day includes a fraction of an hour, the
				reportable time will be increased to the next full hour: Provided further, That
				pilots and flight crew members who assume nonflying duties during a work shift
				will have premium calculated in accordance with the appropriate rules and
				classifications applicable to nonflight duties.
*
Salaried employees:
You must select one of the
				following methods to report your salaried employees:
* Actual hours worked; or
* Assumed hours of one hundred-sixty hours per month.
All salaried employees of an employer must be reported by the
				same method. You cannot report some salaried employees based on the actual
				hours they work and others using the one hundred sixty hours per month method.
				Provided further, as in the case of contract personnel employed by schools
				and/or school districts, the school or school district shall report actual
				hours worked for each employee, one hundred sixty hours per month for each
				employee, or the department
may
authorize some other method in
				assuming workers hours for premium calculation purposes.
(3)
Can I use assumed work hours for
			 piece workers?
No, if you employ piece workers you must report the actual
				hours these individuals work for you unless another unit of exposure is
				required.
Example:
If you have
				employees engaged in drywall work you would report and pay premiums on the
				basis of the square footage of the material they installed not the hours they
				worked.
Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				   51.04.020,
				  51.16.035, and
				  51.16.210. 12-24-067, §
				  296-17-31021, filed 12/4/12, effective 1/4/13. Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				   51.16.035,
				  51.16.100, and 2007 c 324.
				  07-24-045, § 296-17-31021, filed 12/1/07, effective 1/1/08. Statutory
				  Authority:
				  RCW
				   51.16.035,
				  51.16.100. 05-23-161, §
				  296-17-31021, filed 11/22/05, effective 1/1/06. Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				   51.04.020,
				  51.16.035, and
				  51.12.120. 03-23-025, §
				  296-17-31021, filed 11/12/03, effective 1/1/04. Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				   51.16.035,
				  51.04.020. 00-14-052, §
				  296-17-31021, filed 7/1/00, effective 7/1/00. Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				   51.16.035. 99-18-068, § 296-17-31021,
				  filed 8/31/99, effective 10/1/99; 98-18-042, § 296-17-31021, filed
				  8/28/98, effective 10/1/98.