Newsletter March 23, 2023

IN THIS ISSUE

POLICY


ECONOMY


ON THE LOCAL FRONT


RETAIL THEFT & PUBLIC SAFETY


SAFETY

Legislative Update

 

We have just 32 days remaining in this legislative session. The next cut-off is March 29, the last day to pass bills out of policy committees, except House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.

 

We are in a budget year in Washington state, and our legislature must pass a biennial budget for 2023 through 2025. Governor Inslee released a $70 billion biennial budget earlier in the year, a 12% increase over the current $63 billion budget. This is a significant increase in spending, with more than half of the difference slated to build housing. The Senate will release its budget today and the House will release theirs next week before the two chambers negotiate an agreement. WR will continue testifying in strong support of the $3 million funding of the Attorney General’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force. The task force’s next meeting will be held in Tacoma on March 29.

 

HB 1155 — Health Data Privacy

House Bill 1155, which relates to health data privacy, has been the most challenging bill this session. The bill seeks to protect sensitive healthcare data not currently covered by the federal HIPAA Law (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). The legislation is extremely broad as presently written and would unintentionally include many non-sensitive healthcare products and services, such as numerous over-the-counter medications, vitamins, health foods, health-related clothing, devices, and tools.


WR supports consumers having access to and control of their personal data. However, as currently drafted, this bill will be problematic for retailers to know what is and isn’t covered—leaving them exposed to unwarranted lawsuits and legal actions.


Rep. Vandana Slatter (D-48-Bellevue) is the prime sponsor of HB 1155. The bill was voted out of committee yesterday, March 22, and referred to the Rules Committee. The effective date of the legislation has been extended to March 31, 2024. The bill is waiting on a final vote by the full Senate. If passed, the bill will go to the House for a concurrence vote. The Governor has indicated he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk.


WR remains concerned about the legislation’s overly-broad definition of consumer health data.


SB 5352 — Law enforcement vehicle pursuits

SB 5352 addresses House Bill 1054, which raised the bar in 2021 for police pursuits from reasonable suspicion to probable cause that an individual has committed certain crimes before initiating a pursuit. SB 5352 would authorize law enforcement officers to initiate a pursuit if they reasonably suspect that an individual in the fleeing vehicle has committed or is currently committing a violent crime, sex offense, vehicular assault, domestic violence, an escape, or driving under the influence. The bill includes amendments that mandate additional training and require law enforcement officers to communicate more effectively with local authorities during chases to safeguard bystanders. It does not include retail theft. Even at its watered-down stage, it does not enjoy broad support from the majority caucuses in the House or the Senate. The bill was heard on Monday. WR testified in support of adding back property crimes so law enforcement can chase thieves that steal from our retail establishments.

 

SB 5187 ORC Task Force Funding – Operating Budget 

WR met with the House and the Senate budget writers regarding funding for the Attorney General’s ORC Task Force in anticipation of their budget proposals. We hope they will include $3 million in funding for the task force and are testifying to that end.


Read more

Flawed health data privacy bill passes committee


Late last night, the Senate Law and Justice Committee voted along party lines to advance House Bill 1155 – the my health, my data bill. The legislation, as currently written, will undoubtedly lead to consumer angst, confusion, increased costs, product shortages or unavailability, retail employee troubles, and frivolous and costly litigation.

 

The definition of “consumer health data” is so broad in the bill that everyday items like aspirin, vitamins, “healthy” athletic clothing, “healthy” foods, and on and on will all have to meet this new higher-than-HIPAA standard for data collection and utilization. Customers will be forced to “consent” at the cash register for everyday items like cold and flu medicine.

 

Furthermore, the bill allows for lawsuits against any retailer that unknowingly makes an honest mistake. With no “right to cure” provision, retailers will be forced to defend themselves in court or settle expensive, unwarranted lawsuits.

 

Initially, the bill purported to protect a consumer’s sensitive health care information. Innocuous everyday “health” related products and services can be construed as “sensitive” and “personal,” which is confusing and beyond the bill’s intent or scope. This legislation would outlaw even time-saving and convenient store apps that customers enjoy.

 

WR is significantly concerned with this legislation for several reasons and urges the legislature to halt the bill’s progress. Instead, we propose initiating a transparent, authentic, and meaningful stakeholder process to include those most impacted by these severe changes. This must be done before we unintentionally impede consumers’ access to healthcare-related products and services, which will disproportionately affect disadvantaged and impoverished Washingtonians.

Warehouse coalition working to amend or stall burdensome warehouse legislation


A broad coalition of business, trucking, and agriculture organizations is working to educate members of the State Senate of the implications of SHB 1762, a proposal the Teamster’s Union brought forward. The bill would regulate quotas and enforce safety, meal, and rest break requirements in most warehouses. The coalition is reinforcing warehouse employers’ commitment to the safety and well-being of their employees, and LNI’s data on claims shows that safety performance continues to improve in the sector.


The coalition also points out that the Department of Labor and Industries (LNI) already has the authority to enforce meal breaks, rest breaks, and safety conditions in warehouses. Recent media reports demonstrate L&I has been able to take enforcement actions under the current rules and regulations. It should be noted that SB 5217 empowers LNI to establish regulations aimed at minimizing musculoskeletal injuries and grants L&I additional regulatory measures if such injuries surpass twice the state’s claims rate within warehouses. (Note: WR anticipates that SB 5217 will pass the House.)


Lastly, many legislators have stated that their goal for legislation is to ensure transparency and understanding of performance metrics by employees in warehouses. If so, the coalition is urging the Senate to reject the Teamster’s proposal and revert to the original bill, SB 5348, which was heard early in the session.


WR expects this issue to continue evolving over the session’s final weeks.

WR urges amendment of gender price discrimination bill to prevent inequitable outcomes


The proposed legislation, SSB 5171, aims to tackle gender-based price discrimination, making it illegal. This week, the House heard the bill, although it was treated as a new bill because the version passed by the Senate was significantly different from the original.

 

WR supports the bill’s intent but took an “oppose” position for two primary reasons. First, manufacturers are the party in control of wholesale pricing, and retailers merely mark the product up to the manufacturer’s recommended retail price. Second, manufacturers know the substantive differences between two similar products in terms of materials used and investment into the product’s research and development. WR reasoned to lawmakers not to hold retailers accountable for pricing structures that are not in their control. The majority did not adopt the amendment acceptable to retailers on the Senate Floor.

 

Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, filed the gender-based pricing bill following a presentation by six Kirkland high school students. The students claimed that studies have shown that prices for personal care products marketed to women are 13% higher, on average than for men.

 

Proponents of SSB 5171 have suggested that retailers could show a product’s wholesale cost as a defense against gender-based discriminatory pricing. Unfortunately, should a retailer be accused of price discrimination, they would incur attorney fees and damage to their reputation damage regardless of the outcome. This unnecessary burden could be avoided by amending the bill as WR suggested.

 

This bill is modeled after a similar California law, which was passed just three months ago. Washington’s Legislature can do better by avoiding inequitable burdens on retailers, of which approximately 90% are small businesses. WR’s testimony also expressed the position of the Korean Association of Grocers (KAGRO), a partner organization with over 300 small grocery stores owned and operated by Korean Americans.

 

WR and the Washington Food Industry Association (WFIA) will continue working to improve this bill with the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee.

Revenues for February exceeded forecast by $110 million

Washington Research Council


The state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (ERFC) issued its monthly report on general fund revenue collections this past week.


This report covers payments received between February 11 and March 10 for the sales tax, the use tax, the business and occupation tax, the public utility tax, the tobacco products tax, and penalties and interest (collectively the Revenue Act receipts), and it covers payments received between March 1 and March 31 for liquor taxes, cigarette tax, property tax, real estate excise tax, unclaimed property and other sources.


This report includes payments primarily from monthly filers.


The total amount received this month was $1,896.6 million, $110.0 million (6.2%) more than the amount expected under the forecast that ERFC adopted on November 18th.


For the month, Revenue Act taxes (primarily the sales, use, utility, and business and occupation taxes) exceeded forecast by $96.3 million (6.0%). These taxes generally reflect economic activity in the month of January. For the month, Non-Revenue Act taxes exceeded forecast by $13.6 million.


For 9 of the last 10 months, year-over-year CPI inflation exceeded the year-over-year increase in GFS revenues. While inflation has trended downward since mid-summer, the gap between inflation and revenue growth for this month was considerably smaller than those for the preceding three months.


The March collections report is available here.

Read the entire article from the Washington Research Council 

Easter spending anticipated to break sales record at $24 billion


The upcoming Easter holiday is expected to bring in record-high spending, with consumers planning to spend $24 billion this year. This is a significant increase from last year's spending of $20.8 billion and the previous record of $21.7 billion in 2020. According to a recent survey, 81% of Americans plan to celebrate Easter this year, with average expected spending of $192.01, the highest amount on record.


Consumers are planning to spend on various categories for the holiday, including candy ($3.3 billion), gifts ($3.8 billion), food ($7.3 billion), clothing ($4 billion), flowers ($1.8 billion), decorations ($1.7 billion), and greeting cards ($1.1 billion).


Most consumers plan to participate in Easter-related activities, such as cooking a holiday meal (56%), visiting family and friends (50%), attending church (43%), or planning an Easter egg hunt (34%). Most consumers plan to buy Easter gifts from discount stores (54%). Others plan to shop at department stores (42%), online (33%), local and small businesses (22%), and specialty stores (20%).


The survey predicts consumers aged 35 to 44 to increase their spending more than any other group.


For those celebrating the holiday, tradition is the most significant motivator for shopping (63%), followed by social activities with family and friends (31%), sales or promotions (29%), store displays or decorations (23%), and exclusive or seasonal products (20%).

Consumers continued to spend in February despite persistent inflation


Retail sales grew 5.4% year-over-year (YoY) in February, according to the US Commerce Department’s monthly report—excluding auto and gas, sales rose 7.9%.


Although a slowdown from 7.7% YoY growth in January—9.0% YoY excluding auto and gas—consumers continued to spend despite 6.0% inflation in February.


From a YoY perspective, retail sales numbers look relatively optimistic, but a month-over-month (MoM) trend view can look somewhat stagnant with February retail sales dropping 0.4% MoM.


A wider outlook in deciphering the numbers can be gauged on executive sentiment.

Business Roundtable’s CEO Outlook Index—a survey of more than 100 chief executives of America's biggest companies—recorded its first increase since Q1 2021.


The enhanced sentiment illuminates the enduring strength of the US labor market. According to the Labor Department, employers created 311,000 positions in February.

Wage pressure for retailers continues even as consumer demand softens


As tech companies lay off tens of thousands of workers, major retail giants are scrambling to retain theirs. Despite having already raised wages throughout the pandemic, these retailers still anticipate further wage pressures. For example, Walmart recently announced a wage increase for its U.S. hourly workers, raising starting wages from $12 to $14 an hour, with average hourly wages now over $17.50. Similarly, Home Depot plans to spend $1 billion on hourly employee wage increases, while Dollar Tree has pledged to spend $430 million this fiscal year on improving wages and operations, citing a need to reduce theft at its stores.


The competition for retail workers is expected to remain high, with quit rates for retail jobs dropping only slightly since reaching an all-time high in December 2021 and rising steadily since July. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, job openings in the retail sector as of January stood 15% higher than pre-pandemic levels. The services sector, specifically leisure and hospitality, which pays even less than retail, saw 80% more job openings in January compared to pre-pandemic levels, further intensifying the competition for workers.

Seattle City Attorney, Ann Davison, left, and Renée Sunde, WR President & CEO at a recent Project 42 reception.

Promising crime reduction statistics in high utilizer report


Soon after Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison was sworn in, she announced that the City Attorney’s Office would focus its attention on “high utilizers” of the criminal justice system.


One year later, City Attorney Davison issued her first report on the impact of this change in prosecutorial priorities. The High Utilizers Initiative (“HUI”) focused on 168 individuals, accounting for almost 3,500 misdemeanor referrals since 2017. Before the initiative was launched, these individuals averaged 6.3 criminal referrals per year. Last year, the group averaged only 2.7 referrals. And for individuals who exited the HUI, the average number of referrals dropped to 0.6.


What accounted for this success? The City Attorney’s Office prioritized jailing and prosecuting high utilizers. Although limits on jail capacity generally prevent misdemeanor defendants (and the City Attorney only prosecutes misdemeanors while the King County Prosecutor tries felony cases) from being held in the King County Jail, King County agreed to provide an exception for high utilizers.


The City Attorney’s Office estimates that the HUI eliminated “over 750 criminal police referrals reflecting many thousands of criminal acts.” The City Attorney’s Office handled about 6,000 non-domestic violence, non-traffic misdemeanor referrals in 2022, so the 750 fewer referrals are equivalent to over 12 percent of that caseload.


Download the report

Amazon laying off another 9,000 employees


In January, Amazon made headlines when it announced an 18,000-person layoff—2,300 from the Seattle area—marking the largest in the company’s history. With the addition of the recently announced 9,000 layoffs, the number of job cuts has now reached 27,000, accounting for approximately 8% of Amazon’s corporate workforce, which previously numbered around 350,000 individuals.


According to reports, the latest round of cuts will be finalized by the end of April, affecting multiple departments, including AWS, PXT, Advertising, and Twitch. The layoffs come amid ongoing restructuring efforts within Amazon as the company continues to realign its priorities and focus on profitability.


“This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company long term,” wrote Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.


“For several years leading up to this one, most of our businesses added a significant amount of headcount,” Jassy added. “This made sense, given what was happening in our businesses and the economy as a whole. However, given the uncertain economy in which we reside, and the uncertainty that exists in the near future, we have chosen to be more streamlined in our costs and headcount.”


The company’s overall base of 1.5 million employees includes warehouse workers, who aren’t part of the cuts.


Read Jassy’s full memo

WR expands crime witness statement form to additional translations


Washington Retail (WR) has recently announced the expansion of its Public Safety & Retail Crime resources. As a part of this initiative, WR has published alternate translations of its Witness Statement Description Form, adding Español, Korean, and Chinese. These new document versions are now available from the WR website resource page.


Expanding the crime witness statement form into additional translations is a significant step in supporting victims of retail theft. Providing law enforcement with additional tools to help catch criminals can help in bringing them to justice and serve to prevent future crimes. The move also aligns with WR's commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI).


By expanding the form into multiple languages, WR is making it more accessible for witnesses and victims who may not speak English as their first language. This ensures these individuals can report crimes accurately and provide valuable and timely information to law enforcement. The translated forms can also help bridge the communication gap between law enforcement and members of the community who are not fluent in English.


The Witness Statement Description Form is part of WR's ongoing effort to support public safety and combat retail crime. The association has been actively involved in supporting initiatives aimed at reducing retail theft, including partnering with law enforcement agencies and the Washington Organized Retail Crime Association (WAORCA) and advocating for tougher penalties for offenders.


The expansion of the form into additional translations will help support victims of retail theft while promoting JEDI principles. WR is working to create safer communities by providing law enforcement with additional tools to catch criminals and make reporting crimes easier for witnesses and victims.

State Attorneys General push for action from Kia, Hyundai on stolen cars


On July 12, 2022, a video surfaced on TikTok demonstrating the use of a USB connector to successfully hotwire a car by inserting it into an exposed key slot. This security flaw is present in certain ignition switch designs found in numerous Kia and Hyundai vehicles sold until 2021, which lack an immobilizer system for added theft deterrence. The TikTok video came with a challenge to replicate the hack, and less than a year later, Washington auto thefts have increased by 45%. Police departments have started issuing Kia and Hyundai owners free wheel locks to deter future thefts.


Kia and Hyundai have since responded with a campaign to update the software on over 8 million eligible vehicles, but 23 Attorneys General say it isn’t enough.


Wisconsin’s Attorney General Josh Kaul, AG Bob Ferguson, and attorneys general from 21 other states want Kia and Hyundai to do something about their cars that keep getting stolen. On Monday, the AGs sent a letter to Kia and Hyundai, pressing them for solutions.


“Alarmingly high rates of theft of these vehicles have been sustained over a long period of time. Your consumers continue to be harmed as a result, and worse yet, the thefts contribute to an erosion of public safety as they are frequently accompanied by reckless driving and the commission of other crimes, further endangering our communities,” the letter states. “While your companies are reported to have taken some steps to address this crisis, it hasn’t been enough, and it hasn’t been done fast enough.”


Read more from The Center Square

Fire safety is serious business


Electrical malfunctions accounted for over 9% of all workplace fires in 2020, and fires come with costly economic and safety impacts.


According to the US Fire Administration, there were 16,500 office and store fires in the US in 2020, resulting in $932 million in direct property damage.

 

For the safety of employees and customers alike, all staff needs training on how to use fire extinguishers to put out small fires, and the P.A.S.S. system is a helpful way to do that in safety meetings. We recommend encouraging employees to practice this method with their peers, as it is a great way to build trust while instilling personal responsibility in safety.

·     P-pull the pin.

·     A-aim at the base of the fire. 

·     S-squeeze the handle. 

·     S-sweep side to side.

 

RS Safety TV has videos demonstrating the proper use of a fire extinguisher.

 

Expired fire extinguishers, while no longer adequate for a fire emergency, can be excellent training or practice tools for staff to get hands-on experience.

 

When a fire does break out, the first few minutes of the blaze are of the utmost importance. Fire extinguishers are often able to stop small fires before they can grow into large, life-threatening blazes. They should be spaced regularly throughout the business and signposted for quick, easy access. Maps showing extinguisher locations and evacuation routes should be posted, so all staff members know where they are. The most common fire extinguishers are the A-B-C type. These can be used on all types of fires, including combustible materials, electrical, and flammable liquids. 

 

Inspect exposed wires for damage regularly and take damaged electrical equipment or wires out of service or replace them. And remember, limit extension cord use and only use them for non-permanent solutions.

 

Our safety team is available to help members take their safety program from compliance to quality safety practices. Contact us 360.943.9198 x122, or safety@waretailservices.com to learn more.

WR diversity statement


WR is committed to the principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. We strive to create a safe, welcoming environment in which these principles can thrive.


We value all people regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, identity, sexual orientation, nationality, or disability, and that is the foundation of our commitment to those we serve.

Washington Retail Staff

Renée Sunde

President/CEO

360.200.6450

Email

Rose Gundersen

VP of Operations

& Retail Services

360.200.6452

Email

Mark Johnson

Senior VP of Policy & Govt. Affairs

360.943.0667

Email


Robert B. Haase

Director of

Communications

360.753.8742

Email


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