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Minimum wage is adjusted annually based on the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). On Sept. 30, L&I announced the minimum wage increase for 2025. With a $0.38 increase, the minimum wage will be $16.66/hour beginning Jan. 1, 2025.
Category: WWI News
WSLCB Feedback Sessions
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LCB Feedback Sessions on Emergency Permits Rulemaking The Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) is inviting stakeholders to share their feedback regarding emergency liquor permits. House Bill 2204, codified at RCW 66.20.010(19), creates an allowance for wineries/breweries/distilleries to temporarily share retail space during man-made or natural disaster emergencies that prevent these businesses from accessing and/or operating their own retail space. The Washington Wine Institute helped push this bill forward during the 2024 legislative session. Unfortunately, wildfires and other disaster situations are not slowing down each year, so we hope this new allowance helps our winery communities to better support each other in such difficult times. We want to recognize WWI member Rachael Horn of AniChe Winery, for testifying in support of this bill during this year’s session. As part of LCB’s ongoing rulemaking to implement HB 2204, the LCB is hosting two online feedback sessions to discuss some of the changes that have been tentatively drafted as part of the rulemaking process. The sessions will be held virtually on Monday, Sept. 30th from 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m., and Thursday, Oct. 3rd from 1:00- 3:00 p.m. |
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Liquor Compliance Consultant Team
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board is excited to announce the creation of the Liquor Compliance Consultant team!
Since its creation in 2021, the Cannabis Compliance Consultant team has succeeded in providing education to help licensees achieve and maintain compliance. The Liquor Compliance Consultants will follow this same charge with liquor licensed locations.
Liquor Compliance Consultants will provide technical assistance and education in support of the state’s licensed liquor industry. This team will provide education and support to retail liquor licensees, including those with a special occasion license, banquet permit, and other specialty liquor permit. Consultants will work with licensees and/or permit holders to understand applicable rules and laws to stay in compliance to avoid potential enforcement action, such as fines or other consequences. As needed, consultants will issue verbal warnings or Notices to Correct (NTC).
Liquor Compliance Consultants plan, prioritize, develop, and implement education and community outreach activities that support the liquor industry. Duties may include planning and/or facilitating workshops for industry members, assisting in the development of educational/outreach materials, reviewing monthly and annual tax reports for in-state liquor licensees, and assisting in developing policies and procedures.
Additional duties include:
Stakeholder outreach
Field consultation services
Final inspections
Announced and unannounced premises checks
Responsible Vendor Program (RVP) premises checks
Developing written reports
Conducting follow-up visits
Responsible liquor sales training
Ensuring licensees qualify for the RVP
Identifying liquor licensed locations that have not applied to RVP and providing education on how to enroll
The Consultants will be assigned to geographic areas for statewide coverage, as well as facilitate consistency and help build strong working relationships with the liquor industry. Compliance Consultants will work with and in cooperation with enforcement staff and licensing staff to facilitate outreach programs and essential licensing functions.
This position is a resource to all stakeholders as a contact on all educational/outreach materials. Stay tuned for more information about your assigned consultant!
Use of Volunteers and Interns: What Washington Wineries Need to Know
Written By: Kate Bradley, Jared Van Kirk & Emily Gant, Attorneys | Foster Garvey, Seattle
It’s Crush, and your wine club members are eager to help with harvest. Your neighbor offers to lend a hand with bottling your 2021s. A friend knows that you’re short-handed in the winery and offers to organize your case good storage. All of these folks are volunteers, hoping to support the winery as your friends, neighbors and colleagues. The question is – can for-profit wineries in Washington legally use these unpaid volunteers?
The short answer is no. While likely well-intentioned, a for-profit winery’s use of unpaid volunteers runs afoul of Washington law, as explained in more detail below.
Can members of the public volunteer with harvest, pressing, or other tasks?
We understand our clients’ and the public’s interest in getting involved with winemaking. Unfortunately, Washington law has a case of sour grapes. Under the law, volunteering is not allowed in a for-profit business. Volunteers are only allowed to work for an educational, charitable, religious, state or local government or non-profit organization.
Most wineries and vineyards are for-profit businesses, meaning that they should not have unpaid volunteers. Entities that are for-profit businesses must pay any individual working for them at least the minimum wage (sadly, compensating them with wine won’t be enough).
Do we need to pay our “interns”?
Generally, the organization must pay all persons that it “employs,” which is broadly defined to mean “suffer or permit to work.” However, nonprofits and public sector organizations typically are permitted to offer unpaid internships, even if the intern provides a service of value to the organization.
For-profit entities are a whole different varietal. Companies must first determine whether the intern is participating in a training program (and therefore not entitled to compensation) or is simply “employed.” Before unpaid interns or trainees are allowed, the U.S. Department of Labor (and Washington State) requires the company to meet criteria outlined in Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under The Fair Labor Standards Act and also described below.
The main consideration is who is the “primary beneficiary” in the intern-employer relationship. Is the
Employer/Business benefitting from the work performed or is the individual benefiting more from the educational experience? So, you’ll need to read between the wines, if you will excuse the pun. Courts have identified several factors to consider when deciding if a worker is an employee versus truly just an intern:
- The extent to which the intern and the employer clearly understand there is no expectation of
compensation. - The extent to which the internship provides training that would be similar to that which would be given in an educational environment, including the clinical and other hands-on training provided by
educational institutions. - The extent to which the internship is tied to the intern’s formal education program by integrated
coursework or the receipt of academic credit. - The extent to which the internship accommodates the intern’s academic commitments by
corresponding to the academic calendar. - The extent to which the internship’s duration is limited to the period in which the internship provides the intern with beneficial learning.
- The extent to which the intern’s work complements, rather than displaces, the work of paid employees while providing significant educational benefits to the intern.
- The extent to which the intern and the employer understand that the internship is conducted without entitlement to a paid job at the conclusion of the internship.
If there isn’t an obvious tie to an educational program, then it is hard to classify an individual as an “unpaid intern.” When a company fails to satisfy even one of these requirements, the worker is considered an employee and must be paid at least the minimum wage (essentially then you’re partners in wine).
So, what is the takeaway? If your business is a for-profit entity, then unpaid volunteers are not allowed – it would be a pour decision. If your business is a non-profit entity, then an unpaid volunteer may be possible (sip sip hooray!).
No matter what option you are considering – further guidance is a good idea to make sure there’s no wine left behind. If you have questions about paying interns or volunteers, please contact our Labor, Employment & Immigration attorneys, Jared Van Kirk (jared.vankirk@foster.com | 206.816.1372) and Kate Bradley (kate.bradley@foster.com | 206.447.7908). If you have general Washington winery questions, please contact Emily Gant (emily.gant@foster.com | 206.816.1454)
Washington Wine Institute D.C. Fly In: WineAmerica 2024 D.C. Policy Conference
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From May 6th-8th WWI’s Executive Director Josh McDonald, Vice President of our Board of Directors and co-owner of Fortuity Cellars Emily Fergestrom, and COO of L’Ecole No 41 Ryan Pennington joined WineAmerica and 45 other wine-producing states for our annual trip to Washington D.C. to meet with our WA Congressional delegation, House and Senate committees’ staff and leadership, and federal agencies such as the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) that make decisions and have regulatory authority over the wine industry. Our WA wine group grew in size and strength with several members of the WA Winegrowers Association also flying in to help us speak as one united front for the WA wine industry.
Pictured: Congressman Kilmer and Newhouse meet with Washington wine advocates from WWI, Winegrowers, and more.
For our three days in D.C. we spent a majority of the time lobbying our entire Congressional delegation, TTB, and major players in Congress on several federal issues we are helping lead on for WA wine such as The Farm Bill (MAP funding, research funding, specialty crop block grants, and more), nutritional labeling, ingredient labeling, USPS wine shipping, USDA guidelines on safe levels of alcohol consumption, and more. We were the only state to meet with all 12 of our delegation including face-to-face meetings with both our powerful U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray. We are hopeful our advocacy efforts made a meaningful difference in getting positive outcomes on all of these critical issues for the WA wine industry!
0.05 BAC Bill Does Not Pass 2024 Session, WWI Preparing for 2025 Opposition
We are pleased to report that our strong advocacy on behalf of our members and pushback on SB 5002, the .05 BAC bill, alongside the Washington Hospitality Association, Washington Brewers Guild and other stakeholders opposed to the policy, resulted in the bill failing to receive enough support to pass off the Senate floor this session and will not be considered further for 2024. We continue to be vocal that the Legislature should focus on how to combat high BAC drivers and repeat DUI offenders instead of considering an approach that will not get at the problem but instead do extreme damage to our state’s wineries, restaurants, brewers, distillers, and more. We will continue to ask the Legislature to work with us towards solutions that make a meaningful impact.
This said, make no mistake, we expect a .05 BAC bill to be introduced in the 2025 session. WWI needs all our members’ support as we continue to get stronger and better equipped to push back as your Association. If you have not renewed your 2023-2024 WWI membership dues yet, we would be grateful for your help in getting those paid soon so we can plan on what resources we need to best represent our members next session on a .05 BAC bill as well as all difficult legislative proposals. We also humbly ask for our members to reach out to your network of fellow winery owners/operators to join WWI, helping us become stronger and better equipped for the 2025 legislative session.
For any questions or support with membership needs, including dues, contact our Membership and Programs Manager Marie Schurk at marie@wwi.wine.
Virtual Listening Sessions on Nutritional Labeling and Advertising of Wine, Distilled Spirits, and Malt Beverages with Alcohol Content
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is announcing two virtual listening sessions to receive input from the public on nutritional labeling of wine, distilled spirits, and malt beverages to disclose per-serving alcohol and nutritional information, major food allergens, and/or ingredients. These listening sessions are intended to engage the public, including consumers, public health stakeholders, and industry members of all sizes, and facilitate the public’s ability to provide input to inform rulemaking.
Virtual listening sessions will be held on the following days:
· February 28, 2024, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. PST (register for February 28 session)
· February 29, 2024, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PST (register for February 29 session)
The deadline to register to virtually attend either session is noon EST, February 27, 2024. When registering, participants may indicate whether they wish to speak at one of the sessions. Requests to speak during one of the listening sessions must be submitted by noon EST, on February 26, 2024. If all registered speakers have had an opportunity to speak, the session may conclude early.
Written comments may be submitted electronically or via postal mail and must be submitted or postmarked by 11:59 p.m. EST, March 29, 2024, using the instructions provided in Notice No. 232. To view all documents and comments related to this notice, see Docket No. TTB-2024-0002 at Regulations.gov.
To facilitate input from the public, TTB has developed a list of questions. TTB encourages commenters to explain the rationale behind their comments and to include any available supporting data and other information, as appropriate.
Visit TTB.gov for additional details about the listening sessions.
LCB Adopts MAST 13 Allowances
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) adopted rules January 31 amending multiple sections of rule related to alcohol delivery, outdoor alcohol service, and MAST 13 permit holders.
Effective March 2, wineries may allow 18-20 year old MAST holding employees to pour wine and beer away from the table and similar additional allowances for wineries during Covid-era operations after the Washington Wine Institute filed the CR 101 with the LCB one year ago and worked alongside WWI members to advocate for this change.
After this allowance expired in September 2022, the LCB received a petition for rulemaking that sought to amend WAC 314-17-015 and make this a permanent part of rule, allowing MAST 13 permit holders to pour beer and wine away from the customer’s table. In January 2023, the LCB accepted this petition for rulemaking. This rulemaking project began in March 2023, and was later combined with the SSB 5448 rulemaking.
| WWI testified before the LCB January 24 on rulemaking we’ve engaged in over 2023 pertaining to alcohol to go/outdoor seating and MAST 13 rules initiated from the passage of SB 5448 in last year’s legislative session. |  |
The rule also modifies allowances to outdoor alcohol service, which removes language to make clear that outdoor food service is not required for businesses that are not required to serve food indoors.
– Concise Explanatory Statement
– CR 103 filed as WSR 24-04-042 on January 31, 2024
More information is available on the LCB Current Rulemaking Activity webpage. If you have any questions regarding this announcement, please contact rules@lcb.wa.gov. To sign up to receive email announcements for all LCB rulemaking activities visit the agency’s sign-up page. There you can register to receive updates and announcements for a wide variety of agency topics.
WWI Joins Hospitality and Brewers in Testifying in Strong Opposition to HB 2196 the .05 BAC Bill
The House Community Safety, Justice, and Reentry Committee held a public hearing on Thursday for HB 2196 the .05 BAC bill. We are communicating with all of our members and the industry to join us in vocal opposition to the bill.
| We joined the Washington Hospitality Association and the Washington Brewers Guild testifying in opposition to the myriad of reasons why this policy proposal will not achieve the laudable goal of reducing DUI-related fatalities in Washington. |  |
Instead, we believe the bill will only harm our hospitality industry, especially wineries and other liquor licensees located in rural areas of our state. We spoke to such valid points as:
– 49 of 50 states in our country have a .08 BAC law that is based in scientific research and was set with guidance from law enforcement many years ago. Utah is the only state with a .05 BAC law.
– Utah’s own data shows that for three years after the law’s implementation, 2020-2022, the unfortunate reality for their state was seeing alcohol-related fatalities increase each year.
– There is no scientifically valid training for a server to identify a customer at a .05 level, making this practically impossible to implement as a useful tool.
– Washington State Patrol and police officers overall are currently legally allowed to arrest any person for a DUI at any level of impairment, giving them discretion before making an arrest. This law would significantly narrow that discretion.
– High BAC drivers and repeat offenders are the real problem. Focusing on getting these people off the road who clearly have complete disregard for the safety of others should be our state’s top priority. Let’s work together to strengthen existing DUI laws and reduce the number of these instances on our roadways.
We will continue to speak to Democrats and Republicans on the Committee and as many as we can in the State House asking to oppose this bill and instead work with all stakeholders on solutions that will meaningfully lower DUI-related arrests and fatalities and make Washington State roads safer for all to use each year.
A big “THANK YOU” to every WWI member willing to use our Action Alert in last week’s newsletter to sign in “Con” on HB 2196 and add your voice to the process in hopes we together can make a difference. We are incredibly grateful, and we will likely ask for your help again if this bill advances to the next step in the legislative process. We will as always keep our members up to date as is possible on the current status of this bill and all bills we are engaged on during the 2024 legislative session.
HB 2196: .05 BAC Bill
Thursday, January 25th, at 8 a.m. the House Community Safety, Justice, and Reentry Committee will be hearing a bill identical to the one currently in the Senate that lowers the allowed blood alcohol concentration threshold for someone to be arrested of a DUI from .08 to .05. Of our 50 states, only Utah has a similar law. In 2023, the Washington Wine Institute joined other hospitality industries in strongly opposing this bill. For this session, we will once again be in strong opposition and testifying in committee next Thursday to all of the reasons why this will harm Washington wineries while not solving the problem of DUIs and traffic fatalities. We welcome our WWI members to join us in our effort to push back against this policy proposal by signing in “Con” on HB 2196 prior to Thursday’s hearing. The process is simple, takes only a minute and helps our work on this issue tremendously. You can have your voice heard in the process by clicking here and letting the House Committee know you are opposed to HB 2196.