In March 2024, Governor Inslee signed SSB 6192 into law. This amended RCW 39.04.360 to require timely execution of change orders on both public and private construction projects. The amended language, which went into effect...more
Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law Substitute House Bill 1905 on March 28, 2024, broadening the scope of Washington’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (EPOA)....more
Beginning in 2024, both Washington and California will prohibit employers from basing hiring decisions on an applicant’s legal marijuana use. What Is Prohibited? Effective January 1, 2024, employers are prohibited...more
As detailed in Part 1 of this ongoing series, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed the state’s My Health My Data Act (the Act) into law on April 27, 2023. The Act is a first-of-its-kind law that creates new privacy...more
Environmental groups have sued California regulators over new rules they say will discourage the growth of rooftop solar installations, in violation of state law. Three groups filed a petition asking the California Court of...more
Five former Memphis-based hospital employees and another man have pled guilty to unlawfully disclosing patient information in violation of HIPAA, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee Kevin Ritz announced....more
Effective January 1, 2023, Washington employers must comply with SB 5761, commonly known as Washington’s Pay Transparency Law, signed by Governor Jay Inslee on March 30, 2022. SB 5761 amends Washington’s Equal Pay and...more
Washington Governor Jay Inslee will end the statewide COVID-19 emergency declaration on October 31, 2022, and rescind all remaining COVID-19 emergency proclamations. Despite the governor’s action, however, Washington’s Health...more
Earlier this year, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law amendments to the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFML Amendments), which permit additional paid leave opportunities for new parents. The PFML...more
Governor Inslee’s March 24, 2022 signing of House Bill 1329 marks the introduction of changes to the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), the focus of which concerns public meetings’ accessibility and participation in the same....more
Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law the Silenced No More Act (Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1795) on March 24, 2022, making Washington the second state in the nation after California to prohibit employers from...more
Washington Governor Jay Inslee, on March 30, 2022, signed into law amendments to the state’s Equal Pay and Opportunity Act (EPOA Amendments), which soon will require most Washington employers to include pay ranges and...more
The Washington Legislature and Governor Inslee moved quickly the last week of January to pass and sign House Bills 1732 and 1733, which revised the controversial Long Term Care Act that would have gone into effect January 1,...more
On January 27, 2022, Governor Jay Inslee signed two bills that delay implementation of the Washington Cares Act to July 1, 2023, including the 0.58% payroll tax, and provide additional exemptions from the program. The Act...more
On January 7, 2022, Governor Inslee signed Executive Order 22-01 for Equity in Public Contracting and directly increased government contracting opportunities for certified women-, minority- and, veteran businesses (“Certified...more
Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed the Health Emergency Labor Standards Act (HELSA) on May 11, 2021. HELSA went into effect immediately and applies to workplaces only during a declared public health emergency involving an...more
This guidebook is designed to serve as an interactive reference for individuals in Washington state looking for information and resources available to help with the financial impacts of COVID-19. It is not legal advice and...more
On April 16, 2021, Governor Jay Inslee signed into law the Washington Wage Recovery Act, allowing employees to place a lien on their employers’ property to secure unpaid wages. The purpose of the law is to provide...more
Governor Jay Inslee recently signed the Health Emergency Labor Standards Act (HELSA or the Act), a sweeping worker protection bill recently passed by the state legislature. The Act amends the state’s worker’s compensation and...more
After years of discussion, the State of Washington has finally adopted a comprehensive tax increment financing law permitting local governments to create “increment areas” and use tax increment financing to fund public...more
Washington's legislature passed a new capital gains tax in April (Engrossed Substitute S.B. 5096), which was signed by Governor Inslee on May 4, 2021. The new law will take effect January 1, 2022....more
In an historic move, the Washington State Legislature passed two major pieces of climate change legislation in the closing days of its recent session over the weekend of April 24-25, 2021. ...more
Over the weekend, the Washington State Legislature passed a bill that would enact a tax on gains from the sale or exchange of certain capital assets. The bill, which was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee on April 27,...more
In 2019, Washington passed the first law in the nation requiring employees to fund a state-operated long-term care insurance program. The program, codified at RCW 50B.04 and set to begin on January 1, 2025, will be funded by...more
Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has amended the High-Risk Employee Proclamation, making it easier for employers to seek medical verification from employees of whether they are high-risk for COVID-19 and what...more