On May 13, 2019, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation (S.B. 5258) requiring every hotel, motel, retail, or security guard entity, or property services contractor who employs an employee, to:
A property services contractor must submit the following to the Washington Department of Labor and Industries on a form or in a manner determined by the department:
Hotels and motels with 60 or more rooms must meet these requirements by January 1, 2020. All other employers must meet these requirements by January 1, 2021.
The law is effective July 28, 2019.
Read WA S.B. 5258
On May 13, 2019, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation (H.B. 1706) eliminating subminimum wage certificates for persons with a disability. Beginning July 1, 2020, state agencies may not employ an individual to work under a special certificate issued for the employment of individuals with disabilities at less than the minimum wage. Any special certificate issued by the Director of Labor and Workforce Standards to a state agency for the employment of an individual with a disability at less than minimum wage must expire by June 30, 2020. A state agency is any office, department, commission, or other unit of state government.
The law is effective July 28, 2019.
Read WA H.B. 1706
On May 7, 2019, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation (H.B. 1071) revising state law related to the required protection of personal information and mandatory steps in the event of a security breach. The law imposes updated breach notification requirements and provides a format for this notice. For example, the law adds the following:
Additionally, a time frame of exposure, if known, including the date of the breach and the date of the discovery of the breach, must be included with a breach notice.
The law is effective March 1, 2020.
Read WA H.B. 1071
On May 9, 2019, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation (H.B. 1969) enacting the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act. Under the act, an employer may not:
However, an employer may confirm an applicant’s wage history or salary history:
The act also includes the following terms for employers with 15 or more employees:
The law is effective July 28, 2019.
Read WA H.B. 1696
On May 8, 2019, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation (H.B. 1450) related to restraints, including noncompetition covenants, on persons engaging in lawful professions, trades, or businesses. Under the law, agreements limiting competition or hiring may be contracts of adhesion that may be unreasonable.
The law is effective January 1, 2020.
Read WA H.B. 1450
On April 30, 2019, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation (S.B. 5233) creating an alternative process for construction workers represented by collective-bargaining agreements regarding their sick leave benefits. Under the law, the state’s paid sick leave provisions (located at Wash. Rev. Code §§ 49.46.200 – 49.46.830) do not apply to construction workers covered by a collective-bargaining agreement when all of the following apply:
The law is effective July 28, 2019.
Read WA S.B. 5233
On April 20, 2019, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation (H.B. 1533) requiring the Washington Employment Security Department to create, and provide on its website, a domestic violence employment poster. The poster must include a space where an employer must provide the name(s) of domestic violence community resources. Employers must conspicuously post this poster where other required employment posters are located. The law does not create any liability for any person or entity for any acts or omissions.
The law is effective July 28, 2019.
Read WA H.B. 1533
On April 14, 2019, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation (H.B. 1909) protecting the confidentiality of industrial insurance claims records (workers’ compensation claim records) by imposing a $1,000 civil penalty on employers, or their duly authorized representative, that reveal information about a mental health condition or treatment that is in an individual’s claim file to anyone other than that who is authorized to receive such information (a duly authorized representative). Information contained in workers’ compensation claim files, and records of injured workers, are confidential and may not be open to public inspection (other than to public employees in the performance of their official duties). However, representatives of a claimant, be it an individual or an organization, may review a claim file or receive specific information therefrom upon the presentation of the signed authorization of the claimant.
The law is effective July 28, 2019.
Read WA H.B. 1909
On April 24, 2019, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation (H.B. 1930) amending the Washington Healthy Starts Act’s workplace accommodation provisions by including:
Reasonable break time must be granted each time the employee needs to express her milk, and the employer must provide a private location at the workplace, other than a bathroom, which may be used by the employee to express her breast milk. If the business does not have a space for the employee to express milk, the employer must work with the employee to identify a convenient location and work schedule to otherwise accommodate her needs.
The law is effective July 28, 2019.
Read WA H.B. 1930
On April 19, 2019, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation (S.B. 5831) increasing the amount an indebted employer must pay to the survivors of a deceased employee to $10,000. Specifically, if at the time of an employee’s death, his or her employer is indebted to him or her for work, labor, and services performed, and there is no executor or administrator appointed to the employee’s estate, the employer must (upon the request of the surviving spouse) pay the indebtedness due up to $10,000 to the surviving spouse. If the decedent leaves no surviving spouse, payment must be made to the decedent’s child or children, or if no children, to the decedent’s father or mother.
The law is effective July 28, 2019.
Read WA S.B. 5831