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Washington Administrative Code (Last Updated: November 23, 2016) |
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Title 296. Labor and Industries, Department of |
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Chapter 296-17. General reporting rules, audit and recordkeeping, rates and rating system for Washington workers' compensation insurance. |
Section 296-17-31015. General inclusions.
Latest version.
- When are certain operations like delivery drivers included in a basic classification and when are they excluded? There are certain operations, such as delivery of goods or merchandise, which are routinely found in the businesses we insure. We refer to these operations as general inclusions to a basic classification. Although these operations are sometimes covered by a specific basic classification, we will not assign separate basic classifications to a business to cover these operations unless it was, coincidentally, the nature of the employer's business. General inclusion operations are support functions or operations of a business and, as such, are usually included within the scope of each basic classification. The determination of whether or not these operations will be included within the scope of a basic classification is made when the basic classification is first developed. That is why some basic classifications will exclude certain operations and others will include them. Unless the wording of a basic classification specifically excludes any operation listed below, they are to be included. The more common general inclusion operations are:Example: Picture the variety of delivery vans and trucks you encounter as you drive down a highway. In this example, there is a company-owned truck delivering grocery items, a van that delivers parcels and packages, a moving van transporting household furnishings for a customer, and a common carrier company hauling goods from one state to another. Even though the drivers of these vehicles are performing similar duties (hauling goods/driving on a freeway), we would not assign them to the same basic classification. Our classification policy requires us to assign classifications based on the type of the businesses they work for and to consider the overall operations of that business. We learn that the truck delivering grocery items was owned by a retail grocery store and they were transporting goods from a central warehouse to one of their stores. Since the employer is engaged in operating retail grocery stores we would begin our classification search by looking for a classification that covers retail grocery stores. Our search discloses classification 6402 which covers retail grocery stores. A review of the wording of that classification does not require drivers to be reported in another classification so the grocery store classification would include the driver. Now, assume that the driver of the van delivering parcels and packages is an employee of a drug store. Drug stores are covered in classification 6406. A review of that classification reveals that drivers are to be reported separately in classification 1101. Therefore the driver would be reported in classification 1101 and not classification 6406. Moving and storage companies are covered in classification 6907. Since this classification does not exclude drivers, the driver would be reported in classification 6907. And, finally, we would assign the interstate/intrastate trucking classification 1102 to the common carrier trucking operation.[Statutory Authority: RCW 51.16.035. WSR 98-18-042, § 296-17-31015, filed 8/28/98, effective 10/1/98.](Effective January 1, 2017.)
WAC 296-17-31015
General inclusions.
When are operations included in a basic classification and when are they excluded?There are operations, such as pickup and delivery work, which are common to many businesses. When types of work are normal and expected for an industry, support the overall operations of a business, and are performed by employees of the business, we call them general inclusions. We will assign separate classifications for these operations only if:• They represent a separate business or separate store location, and additional classifications are allowed or required by the multiple classifications rule (WAC 296-17-31017); or• The classification describing a business specifically excludes the operation; or• It is permitted or required by another reporting rule.Example 1: It is common that some businesses will have their own legal staff and the legal work is considered an inclusion to the classification that best describes the employer's nature of business. For this reason, we will not assign the law firm classification for private legal staff employed by a business that is not also in the business of providing legal services to others.General inclusions include activities such as:• Air travel by employees who are not members of a flight crew.• Information and technology workers, legal staff, and engineers (unless an exception classification applies; see WAC 296-17-31018).• Food services provided exclusively for a firm's own employees.Exception:Food services operated for businesses performing construction, lumbering, or mining are assigned classification 3905; see WAC 296-17A-3905.• Cleaning at the employer's business location. If workers exclusively clean at employer's business offices, see WAC 296-17-31018.• Manufacturing of containers, packaging, bags, barrels, bottles, boxes, cans, cartons, wooden pallets, or packing cases for exclusive use by the employer's business.• Medical facilities or dispensaries operated by employers for their employees.• Printing or similar operations when performed exclusively as a service to the employer's business.• Maintenance or ordinary repair of an employer's building or equipment.• Pickup and delivery when performed exclusively in connection with the business of the employer.• Repair performed in connection with manufacturing or assembly, such as warranty repairs at the manufacturer's shop or plant.• Sales of products manufactured by the employer, unless permitted by another rule.• Warehousing, handling, packing, and shipping when performed exclusively in connection with the business of the employer.• Testing or analytical laboratories when operated exclusively in connection with the business of the employer.Example 2: Workers performing similar jobs are often reported in different classifications, depending on their employers' type of business, the classification rules describing the businesses, and the reporting rules. In this example we see how the classifications for drivers may vary:• Drivers for a retail grocery store are included in the retail grocery classification 6402 since the classification does not exclude delivery.• Drivers working for a drug store are included in the delivery classification 1101, because the drug store classification 6406 excludes delivery.• Drivers for household moving businesses are included in the moving and storage classification 6907, since the classification does not exclude delivery.• Drivers for intrastate and interstate common carriers are included in the trucking classification 1102, since the classification does not exclude drivers.