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

(1) "Attorney general" means the attorney general of the state of Washington or any person designated by the attorney general to carry out a responsibility of the attorney general under this chapter.

(2) "Benefit," "benefit of employment," or "rights and benefits" means any advantage, profit, privilege, gain, status, account, or interest (other than wages or salary for work performed) that accrues by reason of an employment contract or agreement or an employer policy, plan, or practice and includes rights and benefits under a pension plan, a health plan, an employee stock ownership plan, insurance coverage and awards, bonuses, severance pay, supplemental unemployment benefits, vacations, and the opportunity to select work hours or location of employment.

(3) "Employee" means a person in a position of employment.

(4) "Employer" means the person, firm, or corporation, the state, or any elected or appointed public official currently having control over the position that has been vacated.

(5) "Health plan" means an insurance policy or contract, medical or hospital service agreement, membership or subscription contract, or other arrangement under which health services for individuals are provided or the expenses of such services are paid.

(6) "Notice" means any written or verbal notification of an obligation or intention to perform service in the uniformed services provided to an employer by the employee who will perform such service or by the uniformed service in which such service is to be performed.

(7) "Position of employment" means any position (other than temporary) wherein a person is engaged for a private employer, company, corporation, or the state.

(8) "Qualified," with respect to an employment position, means having the ability to perform the essential tasks of the position.

(9) "Rejectee" means a person rejected because he or she is not, physically or otherwise, qualified to enter the uniformed service.

(10) "Resident" means any person residing in the state with the intent to remain other than on a temporary or transient basis.

(11) "Seniority" means longevity in employment together with any benefits of employment which accrue with, or are determined by, longevity in employment.

(12) "Service in the uniformed services" means the performance of duty on a voluntary or involuntary basis in a uniformed service under competent authority and includes active duty, active duty for training, initial active duty for training, inactive duty training, full-time national guard duty (including state-ordered active duty), and a period for which a person is absent from a position of employment for the purpose of an examination to determine the fitness of the person to perform any such duty.

(13) "State" means the state of Washington, including the agencies and political subdivisions thereof.

(14) "Temporary position" means a position of short duration which, after being vacated, ceases to exist and wherein the employee has been advised as to its temporary nature prior to his or her engagement.

(15) "Undue hardship," in the case of actions taken by an employer, means actions requiring significant difficulty or expense when considered in light of:

(a) The nature and cost of the action needed under this chapter;

(b) The overall financial resources of the facility or facilities involved in the provision of the action; the number of persons employed at such facility; the effect on expenses and resources; or the impact otherwise of such action upon the operation of the facility; and

(c) The type of operation or operations of the employer, including the composition, structure, and functions of the workforce of such employer, the geographic separateness, administrative, or fiscal relationship of the facility or facilities in question to the employer.

(16) "Uniformed services" means the armed forces, the army national guard, and the air national guard of any state, territory, commonwealth, possession, or district when engaged in active duty for training, inactive duty training, full-time national guard duty, or state active duty, the commissioned corps of the public health service, the coast guard, and any other category of persons designated by the president of the United States in time of war or national emergency.

Effective date—2001 c 133: See note following RCW 73.16.005.

Employment and reemployment rights of members of organized militia upon return from militia duty: RCW 38.24.060.