Washington State Employment Law in 2025: Year in Review

Quick Hits

In 2025, Washington State passed thirty-nine new laws impacting all aspects of employment.
State agencies increased and expanded enforcement tools and activity in 2025.
Heading into 2026, employers may want to review their policies and practices for compliance as well as prepare for an increase in litigation and administrative enforcement.

New Employment Laws

Washington’s 2025 legislative session had a renewed focus on labor and employment that largely expanded protections for workers. Key measures relate to recruitment and hiring leave and accommodations, layoffs, and other workplace rights.

Recruitment and Hiring

In 2026, the minimum wage and the compensation requirement for noncompete agreements will increase. In addition to changes in procedures and potential damages under the job posting law, there are other new laws affecting the recruitment and hiring process.

Limitations on Requiring a Driver’s License: Under Substitute Senate Bill (SSB) 5501, employers may not require a driver’s license as a condition of employment, and may not include such a requirement in a job posting, unless driving is an essential job function or related to a legitimate business purpose for the position.

New Requirements for Background Checks: Engrossed House Bill ((HB) 1747 broadens the Fair Chance Act’s requirements to cover more employers (implemented over time), prohibits employers from automatically excluding a person with a criminal record from an employment position; requires employers to make a conditional offer of employment before obtaining an applicant’s criminal record or rejecting an employee for failure to disclose a criminal record; limits the ability to take adverse employment actions based on an applicant’s or employee’s criminal history; and adds a written notice to applicants who volunteer criminal history information. The law took effect on July 27, 2025, but its application is delayed until July 1, 2026, for employers of fifteen or more employees and until January 1, 2027, for those with fewer than fifteen employees.

Leave, Benefits, and Accommodations

Washington employees will also be entitled to more leave and accommodations.

Expansion of Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave: The Employment Security Department (ESD) recently completed the rulemaking for the amendments to the Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave law. The ESD also updated its employer toolkit and other guidance for implementing the new elements of the law, including greater rights to job protection and insurance. Employers must notify employees of the higher premium rate for 2026 and may want to revisit their policies to ensure compliance with the new aspects of the program. Importantly, employees who return from leave starting January 1, 2026, may be entitled to job protection, even if they did not qualify for it in 2025.

Paid Sick and Safe Leave Coverage: Engrossed Substitute House Bill (SHB) 1875 allows employees to use their paid sick and safe leave to prepare for or participate in immigration proceedings for themselves and family members.

Access to WA Cares Fund Begins With Improvements: The Long-Term Services and Supports Act, also known as the WA Cares Fund, became law in 2019. The state-administered insurance program provides long-term care benefits to workers who have paid premiums for a specified time and who need assistance with “activities of daily living.” Benefits become available for the first time in 2026. Engrossed SSB 5291 and new rules improved the program before its launch by (a) creating a pilot program for the first half of 2026; (b) simplifying the ten-year contribution requirements; (c) adjusting exemptions for active-duty service members, temporary workers holding nonimmigrant visas, out-of-state workers, and those with voluntary exemptions; (d) defining terms in the law; (e) creating standards for supplemental long-term care policies designed for coverage after the exhaustion of WA Cares Fund benefits, similar to how Social Security and Medicare work; and (f) automating inflation increases to keep benefits growing over time.

Expanded Domestic Violence Leave and Accommodations: SSB 5101 allows employees to seek leave and/or safety accommodations if they or their family members are victims of a hate crime and prohibits employers from discriminating or retaliating against employees on that basis.

Broadened Pregnancy Accommodations: Significant changes under Engrossed SSB 5217 to the Washington Healthy Starts Act will begin on January 1, 2027. First, the law will extend to all employers, not just those with fifteen or more employees. Second, employers will have to pay employees at their regular compensation rate for any breaks for expressing breast milk, which will be in addition to other required meal and rest breaks. The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) will take over the enforcement of the law from the attorney general.

Layoffs

Washington employees will also have greater rights after being laid off.

Public Information About Layoffs: As part of its implementation of the Washington mini-WARN Act, the ESD expanded public access to information about layoffs, including immediate downloading of the letters that employers must submit to ESD to announce a layoff, which were previously only available through a public records request.

Unemployment Benefits for Striking and Locked Out Workers: Under Engrossed SSB 5041, striking workers can receive up to six weeks of unemployment insurance benefits after a disqualification period and a waiting week, if the strike is not found to violate state or federal law in a final judgment. Benefits also extend to workers affected by employer-initiated lockouts after the one-week waiting period. There is a ten-year sunset period after which the law will expire.

Other Rights

Immigration Protections Increased: SSB 5104 forbids employers from threatening employees regarding their own or their family members’ immigration status in order to deter protected activities or exercising rights under certain labor and employment laws.

Healthcare Worker Protections Updated: Special rules were already in place for the meal periods and rest breaks of hourly hospital employees (or those covered by a collective bargaining agreement) involved in direct patient care activities or clinical services. Under RCW 49.12.480 (amended by SHB 1879), beginning January 1, 2026, hospitals and those employees can agree to waive (a) the meal period, if any, in a shift of less than eight hours; (b) the second and/or third meal periods in shifts eight hours or longer, as long as at least one meal period is provided and used during the shift; and (c) the timing requirements for meal periods and rest breaks, as long as the meal period starts no earlier than the third hour worked and no later than the second to last hour scheduled. The waiver must be in writing and meet various requirements. In addition, pursuant to Second Substitute House Bill (2SHB) 1162, beginning January 1, 2026, all healthcare settings must implement workplace violence prevention plans, timely investigate every incident, conduct comprehensive reviews, and update their plans annually.

Amended Rules for Isolated Workers: The Washington Law Against Discrimination currently requires employers to take various steps to prevent sexual harassment of certain “isolated employees”—janitors, security guards, hotel or motel housekeepers, or room service attendants who also spend a majority of their working hours alone or whose primary work responsibility involves working without another coworker. Under 2SHB 1524, starting January 1, 2026, the definition of “isolated worker” will be expanded to apply to those same categories of employees who (a) perform work in an area in which two or more coworkers and/or supervisors are unable to immediately respond to an emergency without being summoned by the employee, or(b) spend at least half their working hours without a supervisor or coworker present. New requirements for the purchase, use, and training on panic buttons will also take effect.

Cause of Action Created for Personnel File Access: The legislature also created a new private right of action for employees regarding access to their personnel files.

Increased Enforcement Activity and Tools

In addition to new laws that enhance workplace rights, administrative agencies are boosting their enforcement capabilities in several ways.

First, state agencies are scaling up enforcement efforts. The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) Workplace Rights Investigations Report for fiscal year (FY) 2025 indicates a slight increase in closed wage and protected leave investigations compared with FY 2024 and over $2.9 million in penalties—almost double the amount assessed in FY 2024.

Second, as stated in some of the new laws and various public announcements, state agencies are coordinating efforts by leveraging audits and investigations by one agency to produce compliance with laws administered by others.

Third, the Washington State Office of the Attorney General created a Worker Rights Unit in direct response to declining federal enforcement of workplace standards, particularly relating to wage theft, pregnancy discrimination and accommodation, retaliation, and heat protection for outdoor workers. The attorney general’s (AG) office announced that it will also be “partnering with legislators on proposals for the 2026 session to provide tools to make investigations by the AG’s office more efficient and to add new protections for immigrant workers.”

Strategies for 2026

Employers may want to gear up for these new requirements by updating their written policies, workplace posters, and notices. Employers may also want to audit practices and protocols for recruiting, hiring, leave administration, and layoffs. Employers that receive notice of any governmental complaint, investigation, or audit may want to review all information for potential vulnerabilities in all areas of compliance.

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