Permits courts to issue a warrant directing law enforcement to search for and seize an employer’s property, and sell it for the purpose of paying unpaid wages to the employer’s employees. This act also provides that, if the Department of Labor and Industries believes that an employer is insolvent or about to cease business, leave the state, or remove assets which could be used to pay wages, penalties, fees, or interest, and the collection of any wages accrued will be jeopardized by waiting, the Department Director may make an immediate assessment and proceed to enforce collection immediately. (See also SB 5360).   Official Text and Analysis.

Removes authority for the Department to use the seizure process when a final assessment is issued and prohibits use of the seizure provision for seizure of perishable agricultural commodities in their raw and unprocessed state. It removes the requirement that any surplus received from the sale of property be paid to the debtor or a lien holder. The substitute bill changes the standard for jeopardy assessment from "reason to believe" to "reasonable cause to believe" and removes authority for jeopardy assessments when the employer is insolvent. It permits the Department to collect by the distraint, seizure, and sale of the property if the jeopardy assessment is not paid within 10 days of service or mailing. Instead of delivery by certified mail, the substitute bill permits delivery of a NWD by a method for which receipt can be confirmed or tracked or by an authorized representative of the Director.

Strikes authority for the Department of Labor & Industries to match outstanding warrants against accounts at financial institutions using the same format and process as the Department of Revenue.

Strikes the provisions of the substitute bill and: · Permits the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) to electronically serve a financial institution with a Notice and Order to Withhold and Deliver (NWD) by either providing a list of its outstanding warrants to the Department of Revenue (DOR) or by using the same format and process as the DOR; · Requires the DOR to include the L&I warrants in any NWD it electronically serves on a financial institution if the L&I elects to serve the financial institution through the DOR; · Requires a financial institution served with an NWD to answer within 30 days; and · Grants rulemaking authority to the L&I and the DOR.

Permits the Department to electronically serve a financial institution with a Notice and Order to Withhold and Deliver.

Makes it discretionary, rather than mandatory, for the Department of Revenue (DOR) to include the list of warrants in a Notice and Order to Withhold and Deliver (NWD) served on a financial institution; and (2) Allows the DOR to include the warrant information in "a" NWD, rather than in "any" NWD.