On Tuesday, July 11, WFIA's President & CEO TammieHetrick and IGA's President John Ross held a webinar on Staying Relevant in Times of Change. Listen and watch it here as John talked about the changing times within the industry. Learn more about what changes grocers have made over the last year as we have seen increased costs for dining out, how this has impacted grocers, and what you can do to increase sales and profits. The password needed to view it is 5uy8gS?5
The 2023 Washington Legislative Session ended with many new laws that impact our grocery and convenience store industries and their suppliers. On June 20, 2023, the WFIA Government Affairs Team gave a briefing on the new laws that passed, when they will be implemented, and what you need to do to be ready for these new laws. You can view it here and the password needed to view it is OqF8$hVU
On May 22, 2023, The Department of Health gave WFIA members an update on the requirements of illness reporting, shellfish recordkeeping and other new changes. If you were unable to attend this webinar, you can watch it here. The Department provided many websites and resources to help our members through this new process. The password needed to view it is 1#GBdWN^
Join WFIA Government Affairs Director Katie Beeson as she shows members how to become engaged during the 2023 legislative session. You can take action by utilizing our food action alerts or testifying on bills!
On Thursday, November 3, 2022, WFIA held a webinar to review the new SOC code reporting requirements with Denise Craig from the Employment Security Department.
In 2019, the Washington State Legislature passed a law requiring employers to report SOC codes in their quarterly reports for unemployment insurance.
What are SOC codes?
SOC stands for Standard Occupational Classification. The federal coding system helps government agencies and private businesses compare occupational data.
This data is used by:
You can access the SOC code reporting website and tools here: https://esd.wa.gov/employer-taxes/about-soc
Access the webinar recording here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/2305919302396095238
Below is a list of the SOC codes we went over in the webinar.
Are you in compliance with the latest food changes that went into effect on March 1st? You can listen to the most recent updates on this week's webinar with Mike Latham. You will learn how the most recent food code revisions, like date marking, bare hand contact, employee health, consumer-owned containers and more, will impact your operations.
Webinar PowerPoint
Access additional resources and toolkits here: https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/food/food-worker-and-industry/food-safety-rules
On Tuesday, November 16th at 2:30pm we spoke with Craig Blackwood from the Department of Labor & Industries. Craig provided an update to our members on the OSHA vaccine mandate and what the next steps for Washington will be.
Watch the recording from the webinar on Tuesday, November 16ht as we talked with Craig Blackwood from the Department of Labor & Industries. Craig provideed an update on the OSHA vaccine mandate and what the next steps for Washington will be.
The Department of Labor and Industries joined us for a webinar to hear feedback from our members regarding the President's new mask mandate. WFIA members had an opportunity to inform L&I on critical decisions as the mask mandate moves forward.
The Washington Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Act establishes a trust fund, funded by employee contributions, to provide a basic level of long-term care benefits for working Washington state residents. The new law does not take effect until next year. However, there are steps employers can and should start taking now.
Allison Jacobsen from Lane Powell, LLC. Allison advises governmental, for-profit and non-profit employers on a broad range of employee benefits and executive compensation.
During this webinar Allison addresses what the law provides and who will be impacted, what is required of employers, how employees can opt-out of the program, whether employers can and should offer an alternative long-term care insurance plan, and other steps employers should take to prepare themselves and their employees for this new program.
On Tuesday, Aug. 3 from 10-11 a.m., IGA CEO John Ross reveals findings from a recent employment survey, offers insights into the issues independent grocery retailers are facing, and explores solutions to find and keep employees during COVID and beyond. You may remember Ross from a 2020 webinar, talking about his experiences managing the impact of COVID on his stores in China. Now he looks to share his insights about labor issues and the hiring challenges facing grocers in our ever-changing workplaces and volatile economy.
Download the IGA Marketplace presetation HERE.
Many stores have incentivized their employees to get vaccinated with bonuses, discounts on food or gas, and more. We encourage WFIA members to continue or begin to incentivize employees and customers to get vaccinated by doing these incentives as well. The Governor's Office did not provide any further details for any additional incentives they may be doing to support the effort, but we will keep you posted.
Governor Inslee rescinded Proclamation 20-82, which delayed the plastic bag ban. The plastic bag ban was initially supposed to take effect on January 1, 2021 after passing in the 2020 Legislative Session. The proclamation will expire at 11:59 PM on September 30, 2021, which means the plastic bag ban will be effective as of 12:00 AM on October 1. To read the Proclamation, click here.
Shannon Jones, Department of Ecology’s Materials Management Coordinator for Western Washington joined us and explained the plastic bag ban, outreach materials, and more. You can watch the recording.
You can download the associated document HERE.
March 2, 2021 COVID-19 Weekly Webinar with Panelist Nick Streuli
January 5, 2021 - COVID-19 Weekly Update Webinar
December 29, 2020 - COVID-19 Weekly Update Webinar
December 22, 2020 COVID-19 Weekly Update Webinar
December 15, 2020 - COVID-19 Weekly Update Webinar
On December 18th the Employment Security Department (ESD) will be sending out rate notices for unemployment insurance taxes effective January 1, 2021. The rates are expected to increase anywhere from 200 to 600%. We have been working with ESD and the Governor's office to find a solution that will reduce this tax burden.
On today’s call we will have Dan Zeitlin from ESD going over the process for the letter and various things they are working on that may change the rates.
Click here for slide deck.
For questions about your rating, you can email Brenda Westfall at bwestfall@esd.wa.gov.
Retail businesses face unprecedented workforce challenges in this era of COVID-19. Among these challenges is navigating the myriad of leave and income replacement programs available to employees. This session will provide an overview of the mandatory and optional paid time off, unpaid leave, and income replacement programs employees can access when unable to work for reasons related to COVID-19. And there will be plenty of time for questions, to ensure this session addresses the most critical time off issues attendees are facing.
Click for Slide Deck.
On today's call, WFIA will have Sixtine Gurrey. She is an Epidemiologist with the Non-healthcare Congregate Settings COVID-19 Outbreak Team at the Washington State Department of Health. Sixtine will be providing our members clarity around industry outbreaks throughout the state. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Health has been a valuable asset to our members by assisting you in navigating the pandemic to minimize infections and outbreaks within the industry.
Click HERE to view slide deck.
As your business been hit by fraud? Washington State businesses are being hit hard by fraudulent activities during this pandemic! We want our members to be prepared and know how to identity theft and the cyber risks associated should your business be targeted.
WFIA is excited to partner with Carl Hammersburg, Manager of Government and Healthcare Fraud at SAS Integration Technologies. Carl is a 30 year anti-fraud veteran, and he will be covering an overview of fraud, identity theft and cyber risks in 2020 and during the COVID pandemic. He will walk through the state of risks today and how they are increasing, connect the dots on how those risks interact, and give a deeper dive into what is happening in Unemployment Insurance across the U.S. and in Washington.
10.01.2020 - NACS Age Verification Software Webinar
The Educational Foundation has partnered with the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) to bring you a free webinar about the NACS Age Verification Initiative and the FREE software that is available to all retailers. Our presenter for the hour will be Bill Deichler, the NACS Age Verification Program Coordinator. During this webinar you will learn everything you need to know to access this state of the art age verification system FREE from our national partner NACS.
September 22, 2020 Webinar - New Opportunities in the New Reality.
WFIA is excited to offer our members insight into 'New Opportunities in the New Reality'. For this webinar we partnered with Colin Stewart, EVP - Business Intelligence from ACOSTA and Pam Hietalati, Director of Territory Sales PNW from UNFI and we discussed some important and need-to-know information that is affecting our industry.
August 18, 2020 COVID-19 Weekly Update Webinar
08/11/2020 - WFIA Educational Foundation and our guest presenters, Officer Clark and Rebekah Ziesemer with the City of Olympia Police Department - Community Programs, take a look at how to resolve workplace violence before it starts.
During the first half of the webinar, learn from Rosie and two WIGA retailer owners on how their online platform has scaled their businesses, by acknowledging the needs of the ever-changing, digital-savvy shopper. The second half, John Ross, IGA President and CEO, will discuss eCommerce trends and key findings for independent grocers during COVID-19 and how those trends will impact retailers going forward.
June 17, 2020 Five Strategies for Ensuring Future Digital Commerce Growth
At WFIA, we are intimately involved and continuously engaged in the ongoing flow of decision making. Our Government Affairs Committee is actively involved in the political process of legislation, regulation, and politics affecting the grocery industry.
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 706
Olympia, WA 98507
Physical Address
410 11th Ave SE
Olympia, WA 98501
