2024 legislative review
general employment and labor legislation
SB 5778 banning mandatory meetings
Passed / AWB Opposed sponsor : Sen . Karen Keiser , D-Des Moines
AWB opposed this bill , which purported to prevent employers from forcing employees to attend meetings on political and religious matters . In reality , this is about organizing and employers talking to their employees about whether they think unionization is a good thing or a bad thing for the company . This bill said you can still have the discussion , but you can ’ t require the employees to be there . AWB believes this is unconstitutional , as this issue is already covered under the National Labor Relations Act . A state law is barred by federal preemption . Employer and employee discussions are already regulated under federal law .
SB 5793 expanding leave to cover caring for household members
Passed / AWB Opposed sponsor : Sen . Rebecca Saldaña , D-Seattle
The bill allows workers to use leave for inclement weather . AWB supported that provision . However , the bill also expands the definition of family to include any individual who regularly resides in the employee ’ s home or where the relationship creates an expectation the employee care for the person . This broad , expansive provision on expectation of care was not properly defined and could potentially be expanded to people like roommates and friends . This bill will likely increase costs for both employers and employees .
SB 5935 non-solicitation agreements
Passed / AWB Opposed Sponsor : Sen . Derek Stanford , D-Bothell
This bill changed some key provisions of the non-competition covenants that were negotiated in the 2019 legislative session . It makes the use of non-solicitation agreements subject to many of the provision of the statute even though they were specifically excluded during the extensive negotiations of the original bill . This bill will continue to be reviewed as the feds also look to change non compete agreements nationwide .
SB 5980 safety violation notifications
Passed / AWB Supported Sponsor : Sen . Karen Keiser , D-Des Moines
This bill would require L & I to provide notice to an employer of a violation of the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act within five days of the start of the investigation . AWB supported this bill , which would allow the employer to address safety concerns in a much more timely manner than under the current six months . The bill is limited to residential construction . The business community tried unsuccessfully to expand that to other fields . Even so , the bill is a win for employers , who now can address safety issues much more quickly , as well as gather information to respond to a citation .
Rep . Liz Berry , D-Seattle , is chair of the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee and is a member of the House Environment & Energy and House Transportation committees .
10 association of washington business