It appears as though a measure in Washington state that would clarify state regulations on what constitutes a branch office in order to allow employees of collection agencies to work from home has been postponed until September.
The Washington State Collection Agency Board’s next meeting has been scheduled for Sept. 17 at 10 a.m. local time. An agenda for the meeting has not yet been posted. The board was scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on June 4 to consider the measure, which would have allowed collectors to work remotely from their home, largely in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But critics of the proposal voiced concerns over the rushed nature of the meeting, which led the Board to cancel the June meeting and allow more time for all sides to consider the proposal.
Many states have allowed collection agencies to deploy remote workforces to keep people safe and socially distant from one another in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Interestingly enough, many agencies have reported higher levels of employee productivity with staff working from home and there are hopes across the country that agencies will be able to continue to do so even after the pandemic is over.
In the meantime, the status quo is expected to remain in place in Washington state.
The Washington Collectors Association was hopeful the meeting would be re-scheduled.
“We will continue to advocate for the safety of our employees during the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining data security and consumer protections,” the association said in a published report.
Members of the Collection Agency Board who represent the general public were critical of both the proposal and the means through which it was proposed, according to a published report.
“The rule presented to me yesterday afternoon is vague and does not address key aspects of accountable collection practices that could be lost in remote work, such as centralization and oversight, training, and secure data collection,” said Mari Neubauer, one of the CAB’s members.
