The Labor & Workplace Standards Committee on Feb. 7, 2025, reported nine House bills out of committee with due-pass recommendations or unanimous passage, advancing proposals on childcare workforce standards, noncompete covenants, paid family and medical leave, transportation network company (TNC) records, protections for military spouses, interest-arbitration factors for adult family homes, limits on driver-license job requirements, ferry bargaining-unit consolidation, and penalties and training for isolated workers.

The committee’s action comes amid debate over implementation details for several measures and targeted opposition on parts of some bills. The most contested items included the bill to create a Washington State Childcare Workforce Standards Board and a bill expanding job protections under the Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave program.

House Bill 1128: Childcare workforce standards

House Bill 11 28, as moved in committee as a proposed substitute, would establish a Washington State Childcare Workforce Standards Board to adopt minimum standards for compensation and other employment conditions of childcare workers. The proposed substitute narrows the definition of “childcare worker” to direct providers (excluding administrative staff), retains family childcare providers, allows the board to set region-specific standards, adjusts language on funding contingencies, reduces the number of languages required for written training materials from four to three, and requires a formal data‑sharing agreement between the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF).

Vice Chair Fosse urged the committee to support the substitute, calling it “a critical step at addressing our childcare crisis.” Representative Rahimah Rashad said she opposed the measure “not because we don't want to solve the child care crisis, but because we do believe that this would immediately inflate wages of childcare workers and the owners of those facilities are struggling with state regulations.” The committee voted to report the substitute out of committee with a due-pass recommendation (6 ayes, 3 nays).

House Bill 1155: Noncompetition covenants

House Bill 11 55, as offered in the proposed substitute, would make noncompetition covenants void and unenforceable regardless of when parties entered them but delays the effective date to June 30, 2026, and corrects certain terminology and timing language for when lawsuits may be brought. Sponsors described the change as providing market predictability and time for affected businesses to adapt. The committee reported the proposed substitute out of committee with a due-pass recommendation (8 ayes, 1 nay).

House Bill 1213: Paid Family and Medical Leave adjustments and small‑employer grants

House Bill 12 13, as amended in committee, reduces the minimum claim for benefits from eight consecutive hours to four, extends employment‑protection eligibility to employees who began working for their current employer at least 90 calendar days before taking leave (regardless of employer size), and expands protections for health‑care coverage during periods an employee receives program benefits. The adopted amendment clarifies that written agreements between employers and employee bargaining units that are more generous than the bill remain effective.

The substitute also revises Employment Security Department audit authority (authorizing audits rather than requiring them), changes how employer size is calculated for premium and grant eligibility, and creates two grant types for small employers: a flat $3,000 grant to reimburse temporary‑worker or wage‑related costs when an employer hires a temporary replacement for a leave lasting seven days or more, and a grant to reimburse employer health‑care contributions for up to four months (capped at the monthly employer contribution for a state employee's health plan under the Public Employees Benefits Program). Grants are capped at 10 per employer per year; employers receiving these grants must continue paying employer premiums for at least three years. The committee reported the substitute as amended with a due-pass recommendation (7 ayes, 2 nays).

House Bill 1332: TNC vehicle eligibility and trip records

House Bill 13 32 would require transportation network companies to keep a driver’s vehicle eligible in a product class after onboarding and to provide drivers a single, aggregated, searchable, downloadable record of all trips taken in the prior two years. Committee members adopted an amendment delaying the effective date to Sept. 1, 2025. The committee reported the bill out with a due-pass recommendation (6 ayes, 3 nays).

House Bill 1335: Employment protections for military spouses

House Bill 13 35 adds military spouses to certain employment-related protections against discrimination. Sponsors said the bill targets hiring barriers that can arise when employers infer military‑connected family status from resume gaps or address changes. The committee passed the bill unanimously (9-0) and reported it out with a due‑pass recommendation.

House Bill 1398: Interest arbitration for adult family homes

House Bill 13 98, as amended, adds factors for interest arbitration panels to consider in disputes between adult family home providers and the state. The adopted amendment requires panels to consider wages, hours and conditions of direct care providers in adult family homes and to compare adult family home provider wages with direct care worker wages; it also removed a duplicative statutory provision. The committee reported the substitute out with a due-pass recommendation (6 ayes, 3 nays).

House Bill 1402: Driver’s-license job-announcement prohibition

House Bill 14 02 would prohibit employers from stating that a driver's license is required on job announcements under certain circumstances. Supporters said removing blanket license requirements expands access to jobs for people who can perform duties without driving; opponents expressed concern for rural workforces where driving is necessary to reach a workplace. The committee reported the bill with a due-pass recommendation (5 ayes, 3 nays, 1 excused).

House Bill 1511: Ferries captain and mates bargaining units

House Bill 15 11 would allow Washington State ferries’ captains’ bargaining unit to combine with the mates’ bargaining unit; sponsors said recombining the units will reduce confusion and facilitate bargaining. The committee reported the bill out with a due-pass recommendation (8 ayes, 1 excused).

House Bill 1524: Protections and enforcement for isolated employees

House Bill 15 24 (proposed substitute) tightens training language and clarifies technical requirements for panic buttons for isolated employees (for example, housekeepers, janitors and security staff); it revises enforcement and penalty language and delays the effective date to Jan. 1, 2026. The substitute makes failure to provide a panic button an unfair practice under the Washington Law Against Discrimination (allowing enforcement through the Human Rights Commission and civil suit), requires an employer to maintain records of panic‑button purchase and use, requires L&I to adopt implementing rules, and sets penalties (for example, $1,000 per willful violation and increased penalties for repeat willful violations). The committee reported the substitute out with a due-pass recommendation (6 ayes, 2 nays, 1 excused). As staff described it during briefing, panic buttons must be “designed to be carried by the isolated employee and being simple to activate without delays caused by entering passwords or waiting for the system to turn on.”

Votes at a glance

- House Bill 11 28 — Childcare Workforce Standards Board (proposed substitute): reported out with due-pass recommendation; committee tally 6 ayes, 3 nays. Key proponents: Vice Chair Fosse; opponent: Rahimah Rashad (opposed as drafted).

- House Bill 11 55 — Noncompetition covenants (proposed substitute, delayed effective date to 06/30/2026): reported out with due-pass recommendation; committee tally 8 ayes, 1 nay.

- House Bill 12 13 — Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave changes (substitute as amended; small‑employer grants and job‑protection expansion): reported out with due-pass recommendation; committee tally 7 ayes, 2 nays.

- House Bill 13 32 — TNC vehicle eligibility and trip‑record access (amendment delaying effective date to 09/01/2025): reported out with due-pass recommendation; committee tally 6 ayes, 3 nays.

- House Bill 13 35 — Military‑spouse employment protections: reported out with due-pass recommendation; committee tally 9 ayes, 0 nays.

- House Bill 13 98 — Interest arbitration factors for adult family homes (amendment adding wage/condition comparisons): reported out with due-pass recommendation; committee tally 6 ayes, 3 nays.

- House Bill 14 02 — Limitations on requiring a driver’s license in job postings: reported out with due-pass recommendation; committee tally 5 ayes, 3 nays, 1 excused.

- House Bill 15 11 — Recombine ferry captains and mates bargaining units: reported out with due-pass recommendation; committee tally 8 ayes, 1 excused.

- House Bill 15 24 — Protections and enforcement for isolated workers (proposed substitute clarifying panic-button requirements, penalties and enforcement routes; effective date 01/01/2026): reported out with due-pass recommendation; committee tally 6 ayes, 2 nays, 1 excused.

What happened next

Committee members moved into caucus and then reconvened to adopt the reported recommendations and take roll-call votes on the bills listed above. Multiple bills were amended in committee before final votes; staff briefings during the session clarified technical changes to definitions, effective dates, grant mechanics and enforcement details. Several members said they would continue negotiations on the floor for technical tweaks. No final floor action occurred at this meeting; the committee’s votes advance the bills to the next stage in the legislative process.

Ending

Committee members and staff signaled continued stakeholdering and technical adjustments will continue as the bills move to floor consideration. Two measures drew sustained comment over implementation details — the childcare workforce board and the paid‑leave small‑employer grants — and both were reported out with recommendations for further work on the floor.