{"id":12383,"date":"2026-03-16T08:27:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T13:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/?post_type=resources&p=12383"},"modified":"2026-06-24T04:21:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T09:21:33","slug":"washington-state-employment-law-changes","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Major employment law changes coming to Washington State"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Written by: <\/p>\n\n\n

Michael Cardman<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

Share<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has signed new laws involving employee microchips, domestic workers, wage-theft penalties and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two other bills – one that would prohibit noncompete agreements and another that would make state pregnancy-accommodation records confidential – are on the governor’s desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This table summarizes some of the most significant new measures:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill<\/strong><\/td>Topic<\/strong><\/td>Summary<\/strong><\/td>Effective Date<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
HB 1155<\/td>Noncompete Agreements<\/td>Would ban noncompete agreements and require employers to make reasonable efforts to notify current and former workers by October 1, 2027, that any previous noncompete agreements are void and unenforceable.<\/td>NOTE:<\/strong> This bill was delivered to the governor’s desk on March 12. If signed, it would take effect June 30, 2027<\/td><\/tr>
HB 2303<\/td>Employee Privacy<\/td>Prohibits employers from requesting, requiring or coercing an employee to have a microchip implanted. Allows affected employees to sue for injunctive relief, damages and more.<\/td>June 10, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
HB 2345<\/td>Pay Deductions<\/td>Modifies the allocation of the employer and employee premium shares under the state paid family and medical leave (PFML) law.<\/td>June 11, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
HB 2355<\/td>Discrimination, Organizational Exit<\/td>Establishes labor protections for domestic workers, including coverage under the Minimum Wage Act and the Washington Law Against Discrimination, written agreements specifying a worker’s position and rate of pay, severance pay and two weeks’ notice before termination, and retaliation protections.<\/td>July 1, 2027<\/td><\/tr>
HB 2479<\/td>Wage Payments<\/td>Increases penalties for violations of wage-payment laws like the Minimum Wage Act (MWA) and the Wage Payment Act (WPA), and provides for tri-annual inflation adjustments starting in 2030. Also creates a Wage Recovery Program to disburse funds to unpaid employees who would experience “immediate economic harm” due to not being paid wages.<\/td>June 11, 2026, for the penalty increases; July 1, 2028, or later for the Wage Recovery Program<\/td><\/tr>
HB 2632<\/td>Immigration<\/td>Replaces the term alien<\/em> with noncitizen <\/em>in several statutes, and requires all state and local statutes and other official documents enacted after July 1, 2026, to use the term noncitizen <\/em>instead of alien<\/em> when referring to an individual who is not a citizen or national of the United States (unless alien<\/em> is required to comply with federal law or funding requirements).<\/td>June 10, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
SB 5874<\/td>Unemployment Taxes<\/td>Allows the Washington Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) to waive penalties for “minor or insignificant reporting errors” on required quarterly tax and wage reports such as inadvertent software errors.<\/td>June 11, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
SB 6014<\/td>Maternity and Pregnancy<\/td>Would make confidential certain L&I records containing personal information about employees or job applicants who have filed a complaint, requested assistance or participated in an investigation related to pregnancy-related workplace accommodations.<\/td>NOTE:<\/strong> This bill was delivered to the governor’s desk on March 10. If signed, it would take effect January 1, 2027<\/td><\/tr>
SB 6183<\/td>Health Care Benefits<\/td>Requires health carriers to cover all FDA-approved HIV antiviral drugs without prior authorization, step therapy or any other utilization-management protocols in all health plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027.<\/td>June 10, 2026<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n

Share<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Michael<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Written by: <\/p>\n\n\n

Michael Cardman<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Jurisdiction: Washington State<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Navigate HR complexity with confidence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With Brightmine, you can build powerful people strategies, implement best practices and set your organization up for a brighter future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn how our tools, resources and automation can empower you and your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Learn more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Go back to the top<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

You may also be interested in…<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n\n\n
\n
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t
\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\t
\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHR law guides<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Mass layoffs, reductions in force and plant closings: Federal<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

This guide provides an overview of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, including employer coverage, triggering …<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHR News<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

$100,000 H-1B visa fee struck down<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A federal judge has struck down a controversial $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa petitions, ruling the Trump …<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHR law guides<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Immigration, Form I\u20119 and work visas: Federal<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

This guide provides HR professionals with an overview of federal immigration requirements related to employment eligibility verification, including …<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington State has enacted a slate of new employment laws covering issues such as employee microchip privacy, wage-theft penalties, domestic worker protections and paid leave, with additional measures on noncompetes and pregnancy accommodations awaiting the governor\u2019s signature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":12008,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"resource-author","categories":[55],"tags":[],"topic":[63],"class_list":["post-12383","resources","type-resources","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hr-news","topic-employment-law-updates"],"_lnrs_read_more":"","yoast_head":"\nMajor employment law changes coming to Washington State | Brightmine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Washington State has passed major employment law changes covering noncompetes, employee privacy, wage-theft penalties, domestic workers and paid leave, with more bills pending.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Major employment law changes coming to Washington State\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Washington State has passed major employment law changes covering noncompetes, employee privacy, wage-theft penalties, domestic workers and paid leave, with more bills pending.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Brightmine US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-24T09:21:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/07\/13030447\/Modern-workspace-1200x627-1.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"627\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@WeAreBrightmine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/employment-law-updates\\\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/employment-law-updates\\\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c96333c9661c3bf2ba04e4ba6394603\"},\"headline\":\"Major employment law changes coming to Washington State\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-16T13:27:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-24T09:21:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/employment-law-updates\\\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":511,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/employment-law-updates\\\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/13030447\\\/Modern-workspace-1200x627-1.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"HR News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/employment-law-updates\\\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/employment-law-updates\\\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Major employment law changes coming to Washington State | Brightmine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/employment-law-updates\\\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/employment-law-updates\\\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/13030447\\\/Modern-workspace-1200x627-1.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-16T13:27:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-24T09:21:33+00:00\",\"description\":\"Washington State has passed major employment law changes covering noncompetes, employee privacy, wage-theft penalties, domestic workers and paid leave, with more bills pending.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/employment-law-updates\\\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/employment-law-updates\\\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/employment-law-updates\\\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/13030447\\\/Modern-workspace-1200x627-1.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/13030447\\\/Modern-workspace-1200x627-1.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":627,\"caption\":\"Modern workspace\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/employment-law-updates\\\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"HR compliance\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Employment law updates\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/employment-law-updates\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Major employment law changes coming to Washington State\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/\",\"name\":\"Brightmine\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Brightmine\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/07042311\\\/Brightmine-logo_Full-color_Primary.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/07042311\\\/Brightmine-logo_Full-color_Primary.webp\",\"width\":1941,\"height\":508,\"caption\":\"Brightmine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/WeAreBrightmine\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/brightmine\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/@WeAreBrightmine\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c96333c9661c3bf2ba04e4ba6394603\",\"name\":\"Michael Cardman\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/18075013\\\/michael-cardman-150x150.webp\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/18075013\\\/michael-cardman-150x150.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/18075013\\\/michael-cardman-150x150.webp\",\"caption\":\"Michael Cardman\"},\"description\":\"Michael Cardman has more than 20 years of experience in publishing and has specialized in employment law for more than 15 years. As a member of the Brightmine editorial team, he focuses on wage and hour compliance, including minimum wage, overtime, employee classification, hours worked, independent contractors and child labor. Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Virginia. Prior to joining Brightmine, he was the managing editor for Thompson Publishing Group\u2019s library of HR publications. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing books, manuals and online tools covering a variety of topics such as wage and hour, employee leaves, employee benefits and compensation.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/michael-cardman-0609b025\\\/\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Senior Legal Editor\",\"worksFor\":\"Brightmine\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/us\\\/author\\\/michael-cardman\\\/\",\"knowsAbout\":[\"Wage and hour compliance\",\"Minimum wage law\",\"Overtime law\",\"Employee classification\",\"HR compliance for independent contractors\",\"Child labor law\"],\"hasCredential\":[{\"@type\":\"EducationalOccupationalCredential\",\"credentialCategory\":\"degree\",\"name\":\"BA English\"}],\"alumniOf\":[{\"@type\":\"CollegeOrUniversity\",\"name\":\"University of Virginia\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.virginia.edu\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Major employment law changes coming to Washington State | Brightmine","description":"Washington State has passed major employment law changes covering noncompetes, employee privacy, wage-theft penalties, domestic workers and paid leave, with more bills pending.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Major employment law changes coming to Washington State","og_description":"Washington State has passed major employment law changes covering noncompetes, employee privacy, wage-theft penalties, domestic workers and paid leave, with more bills pending.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/","og_site_name":"Brightmine US","article_modified_time":"2026-06-24T09:21:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":627,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/07\/13030447\/Modern-workspace-1200x627-1.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@WeAreBrightmine","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/7c96333c9661c3bf2ba04e4ba6394603"},"headline":"Major employment law changes coming to Washington State","datePublished":"2026-03-16T13:27:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-24T09:21:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/"},"wordCount":511,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/07\/13030447\/Modern-workspace-1200x627-1.webp","articleSection":["HR News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/","url":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/","name":"Major employment law changes coming to Washington State | Brightmine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/07\/13030447\/Modern-workspace-1200x627-1.webp","datePublished":"2026-03-16T13:27:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-24T09:21:33+00:00","description":"Washington State has passed major employment law changes covering noncompetes, employee privacy, wage-theft penalties, domestic workers and paid leave, with more bills pending.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/07\/13030447\/Modern-workspace-1200x627-1.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/07\/13030447\/Modern-workspace-1200x627-1.webp","width":1200,"height":627,"caption":"Modern workspace"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/washington-state-employment-law-changes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"HR compliance","item":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Employment law updates","item":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Major employment law changes coming to Washington State"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/","name":"Brightmine","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/#organization","name":"Brightmine","url":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/07042311\/Brightmine-logo_Full-color_Primary.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/07042311\/Brightmine-logo_Full-color_Primary.webp","width":1941,"height":508,"caption":"Brightmine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/WeAreBrightmine","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/brightmine\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@WeAreBrightmine"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/7c96333c9661c3bf2ba04e4ba6394603","name":"Michael Cardman","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/09\/18075013\/michael-cardman-150x150.webp","url":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/09\/18075013\/michael-cardman-150x150.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/09\/18075013\/michael-cardman-150x150.webp","caption":"Michael Cardman"},"description":"Michael Cardman has more than 20 years of experience in publishing and has specialized in employment law for more than 15 years. As a member of the Brightmine editorial team, he focuses on wage and hour compliance, including minimum wage, overtime, employee classification, hours worked, independent contractors and child labor. Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Virginia. Prior to joining Brightmine, he was the managing editor for Thompson Publishing Group\u2019s library of HR publications. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing books, manuals and online tools covering a variety of topics such as wage and hour, employee leaves, employee benefits and compensation.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/michael-cardman-0609b025\/"],"jobTitle":"Senior Legal Editor","worksFor":"Brightmine","url":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/author\/michael-cardman\/","knowsAbout":["Wage and hour compliance","Minimum wage law","Overtime law","Employee classification","HR compliance for independent contractors","Child labor law"],"hasCredential":[{"@type":"EducationalOccupationalCredential","credentialCategory":"degree","name":"BA English"}],"alumniOf":[{"@type":"CollegeOrUniversity","name":"University of Virginia","url":"http:\/\/www.virginia.edu"}]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/12383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resources"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12383"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/12383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14980,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/12383\/revisions\/14980"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12383"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=12383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}