May the city or county charge more than 15 cents per page for color copies? Is homework that accompanies a required training course for city employees compensable time? Must a father be given same leave benefits after childbirth as the mother is given? Must a city or county obtain signed permission of a job applicant before contacting job references? May the fire department civil service commission exempt a number of fire fighter positions from civil service coverage?

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	May the city or county charge more than 15 cents per page for color copies?
	A city or county may charge no more than 15 cents a page unless it has determined the actual per page cost. If the city or county determines that the actual per page cost of a color copy is, say, 20 cents, it may charge that amount for color copies. RCW 42.56.120 provides in part as follows: Agency charges for photocopies shall be imposed in accordance with the actual per page cost or other costs established and published by the agency. In no event may an agency charge a per page cost greater than the actual per page cost as established and published by the agency. To the extent the agency has not determined the actual per page cost for photocopies of public records, the agency may not charge in excess of fifteen cents per page. For information on establishing per page charges, see WAC 44-14-07001 ("General rules for charging for copies"), one of the Attorney General's "Model Rules" for public records disclosure. Note that, at subsection (3) ("Charges for copies other than standard photocopies"), this regulation provides: Nonstandard copies include color copies, engineering drawings, and photographs. An agency can charge its actual costs for nonstandard photocopies. RCW 42.17.300/42.56.120. So, as long as a city or county establishes the actual cost for color copies, it may charge that cost.

	Is homework that accompanies a required training course for city employees compensable time?
	Yes. The FLSA Handbook for States, Local Governments and Schools, by Thompson Publishing Group, discusses this issue in Section 461 on "Time Spent Studying or Doing Homework." Citing case law interpreting the FLSA and federal Department of Labor opinions, it states that, as a general proposition, time spent doing homework for required training courses is compensable time. There is one exception to this rule which is that, if the study activity is of a general nature and of benefit to the worker as well as the employer, it may not be compensable working time.

	Must a father be given same leave benefits after childbirth as the mother is given?
	Yes. RCW 49.12.350 provides in part: [T]he legislature declares that it is the public policy of this state to require that employers who grant leave to their employees to care for a newborn child make the same leave available upon the same terms for adoptive parents and stepparents, men and women. And, RCW 49.12.360(2) implements that policy by providing that "An employer must grant the same [parental] leave upon the same terms for men as it does for women."

	Must a city or county obtain signed permission of a job applicant before contacting job references?
	The law does not require a signed release/permission before contacting references/former employers, but it is generally thought that a signed release/permission may increase the likelihood of receiving more helpful, substantive information from a former employer. A law enacted in 2005 may also help; RCW 4.24.730 makes employers immune from civil liability if they give honest and accurate job references on current or former employees. So, it's probably a good idea to have a signed authorization and an indication on the application form that references may or will be contacted. But, it's not required.

	May the fire department civil service commission exempt a number of fire fighter positions from civil service coverage?
	The only position that may be exempted from civil service coverage in a city fire department is the chief. There is no provision for exempting other full-time members of the fire department. See RCW 41.08.050, which provides that all full-time members of the fire department are to be included in the civil service system, except for the chief. This is different from the statutory provisions on police civil service. There is specific authorization in RCW 41.12.050 to designate some positions in the police civil service system as unclassified and exempt from civil service coverage.

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© 2007 Municipal Research & Services Center of Washington