wa-law.org > bill > 2023-24 > SB 6105 > Original Bill

SB 6105 - Adult entertainment workers

Source

Section 1

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    1. The department shall develop or contract for the development of training for entertainers. The training must include, but not be limited to:

      1. Education about the rights and responsibilities of entertainers, including with respect to working as an employee or independent contractor;

      2. Reporting of workplace injuries, including sexual and physical abuse and sexual harassment;

      3. The risk of human trafficking;

      4. Financial aspects of the entertainer profession; and

    2. Resources for assistance.

    3. As a condition of receiving or renewing an adult entertainer license issued by a local government on or after July 1, 2020, an entertainer must provide proof that the entertainer took the training described in (a) of this subsection. The department must make the training reasonably available to allow entertainers sufficient time to take the training in order to receive or renew their licenses on or after July 1, 2020.

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    1. An adult entertainment establishment must provide training to its employees to minimize occurrences of unprofessional behavior and enable employees to support entertainers in times of conflict.

    2. An adult entertainment establishment must require all employees to take the training within 30 days of hiring, and at least every two years thereafter.

    3. The training content must be developed by a third party. The training topics must include, but are not limited to:

      1. Preventing sexual harassment;

      2. Conflict de-escalation; and

      3. Providing first aid.

  3. An adult entertainment establishment must provide an accessible panic button in each room in the establishment in which an entertainer may be alone with a customer, and in bathrooms and dressing rooms. An entertainer may use the panic button if the entertainer has been harmed, reasonably believes there is a risk of harm, or there is an other emergency in the entertainer's presence. The entertainer may cease work and leave the immediate area to await the arrival of assistance. The establishment must provide to the department, at least annually, proof of compliance with this subsection and maintenance records showing that panic buttons are maintained and checked to ensure they are in working condition.

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    1. An adult entertainment establishment must record the accusations it receives that a customer has committed an act of violence, including assault, sexual assault, or sexual harassment, towards an entertainer. The establishment must make every effort to obtain the customer's name and if the establishment cannot determine the name, it must record as much identifying information about the customer as is reasonably possible. The establishment must retain a record of the customer's identifying information for at least five years after the most recent accusation.

    2. If an accusation is supported by a statement made under penalty of perjury or other evidence, the adult entertainment establishment must decline to allow the customer to return to the establishment for at least three years after the date of the incident. The establishment must share the information about the customer with other establishments with common ownership and those establishments with common ownership must also decline to allow the customer to enter those establishments for at least three years after the date of the incident. No entertainer may be required to provide such a statement.

    3. An adult entertainment establishment must have a written process and procedure accessible to all employees and entertainers for submitting accusations.

    4. An adult entertainment establishment must provide information collected under this section annually to the department.

  5. An adult entertainment establishment must provide at least one person on the premises during business hours whose primary duty is security, and who has no other duties outside of security between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. The department may adopt rules that require additional security persons based on additional factors including, but not limited to:

    1. The size of the establishment;

    2. The layout and floor plan of the establishment;

    3. The patron volume;

    4. Security cameras and panic buttons; and

    5. The history of security events at the establishment.

  6. An adult entertainment establishment must:

    1. Provide appropriate cleaning supplies at all stage performance areas;

    2. Equip dressing or locker rooms for entertainers with a keypad requiring a code to enter; and

    3. Display signage at the entrance directing customers to resources on appropriate etiquette.

  7. An adult entertainment establishment must have written processes and procedures accessible to all employees and entertainers for:

    1. Responding to customer violence or criminal activity, including when police are called; and

    2. Ejecting customers who violate club policies, including intoxication or other inappropriate or illegal behavior.

  8. For the purposes of enforcement, except for subsection (1) of this section, this section shall be considered a safety or health standard under this chapter. The department may share enforcement and compliance with this section as necessary for the purposes of section 3 of this act.

  9. This section does not affect an employer's responsibility to provide a place of employment free from recognized hazards or to otherwise comply with this chapter and other employment laws.

  10. The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

    1. "Adult entertainment" means any exhibition, performance, or dance of any type conducted in a premises where such exhibition, performance, or dance involves an entertainer who:

      1. Is unclothed or in such attire, costume, or clothing as to expose to view any portion of the breast below the top of the areola or any portion of the pubic region, anus, buttocks, vulva, or genitals; or

      2. Touches, caresses, or fondles the breasts, buttocks, anus, genitals, or pubic region of another person, or permits the touching, caressing, or fondling of the entertainer's own breasts, buttocks, anus, genitals, or pubic region by another person, with the intent to sexually arouse or excite another person.

    2. "Adult entertainment establishment" or "establishment" means any business to which the public, patrons, or members are invited or admitted where an entertainer provides adult entertainment to a member of the public, a patron, or a member.

    3. "Entertainer" means any person who provides adult entertainment within an adult entertainment establishment, whether or not a fee is charged or accepted for entertainment and whether or not the person is an employee under RCW 49.17.020.

    4. "Panic button" means an emergency contact device by which the entertainer may summon immediate on-scene assistance from another entertainer, a security guard, or a representative of the adult entertainment establishment.

Section 2

  1. No adult entertainment establishment may allow any person under the age of 18 on the premises.

  2. Any fee charged by an establishment to an entertainer must:

    1. Apply equally to all entertainers in a given establishment;

    2. Be stated in a written contract; and

    3. Continue to apply for a period of not less than three months with effective dates.

  3. An establishment may not charge an entertainer:

    1. Any fees or interest for late payment or nonpayment of any fee;

    2. A fee for failure to appear at a scheduled time;

    3. Any fees or interest that result in the entertainer carrying forward an unpaid balance from any fee incurred previously by the entertainer for access to or usage of the establishment premises;

    4. Any fee for access to or usage of the establishment premises in an amount greater than the entertainer receives during the period of access to or usage of the establishment premises; or

    5. Within an eight-hour period, any fee that exceeds:

      1. The lesser of $150 or 30 percent of amounts collected by the entertainer, excluding amounts collected for adult entertainment provided in a private performance area; plus

      2. 30 percent of amounts collected by the entertainer for adult entertainment provided in a private performance area.

  4. This section does not prevent an establishment from providing leasing discounts or credits to encourage scheduling or charge leasing fees that vary based on the time of day.

  5. All establishments must display signage in areas designated for entertainers that entertainers are not required to surrender any tips or gratuities and an establishment may not take adverse action against an entertainer in response to the entertainer's use or collection of tips or gratuities.

  6. No establishment may refuse to provide an entertainer with written notice of the reason or reasons for any termination or refusal to rehire the entertainer. Such notice must be provided within 10 business days of the termination or refusal to rehire the entertainer.

  7. The department may enforce subsections (2) through (6) of this section under the provisions of this chapter and any applicable rules. Any amounts owed to an entertainer under this section may be enforced as a wage payment requirement under RCW 49.48.082. Any other violation may be enforced as an administrative violation under this chapter and any applicable rules. The department may share enforcement and compliance with this section as necessary for the purposes of section 3 of this act.

  8. The department may promulgate rules to implement this chapter.

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    1. No state agency or local government may adopt laws, rules, ordinances, or regulations that:

      1. Limit or prohibit an entertainer from collecting payment for adult entertainment from customers; and

      2. Restrict an entertainer's proximity or distance from others before or during any exhibition, performance, or dance of any type, to the extent there is no sexual contact as defined under RCW 9A.44.010.

    2. This subsection may not be construed to prohibit a local government from adopting ordinances or regulations that are more protective of entertainers than the requirements of this section.

  10. The department must adjust the dollar amount in subsection (3)(e) of this section every 10 years, beginning January 1, 2034, based upon changes in the consumer price index during that time period.

  11. For purposes of this section:

    1. "Adult entertainment" has the same meaning as in RCW 49.17.470.

    2. "Adult entertainment establishment" or "establishment" has the same meaning as in RCW 49.17.470.

    3. "Entertainer" has the same meaning as in RCW 49.17.470.

    4. "Leasing fee" means a fee, charge, or other request for money from an entertainer by an adult entertainment establishment in exchange for allowing an entertainer to conduct adult entertainment.

Section 3

  1. If an adult entertainment establishment has received a citation describing a violation of RCW 49.17.470 or section 2 of this act, or associated rules from the department of labor and industries, and has not abated the violation within the time period provided in the citation, the board:

    1. May not issue or reissue a liquor license to the establishment until the department of labor and industries affirms the violation has been abated; and

    2. Must suspend or cancel the establishment's existing liquor license until the department of labor and industries affirms the violation has been abated.

  2. The board must adopt rules to implement this section.

  3. For purposes of this section "adult entertainment establishment" or "establishment" has the same meaning as in RCW 49.17.470.

Section 4

If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.


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