Washington HB 1561: Concerning open educational resources.

Bill Text

AN ACT Relating to providing labor market protections for 1
domestic workers; amending RCW 49.46.010, 49.60.040, and 51.12.020; 2
adding a new section to chapter 49.60 RCW; adding a new chapter to 3
Title 49 RCW; prescribing penalties; and providing an effective date.4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. Whereas domestic workers were historically 6
excluded from many basic labor protections and whereas these 7
protections have been identified as a priority to the people of the 8
state of Washington, this act declares that health, safety, wage 9
protections, and general welfare are guaranteed for domestic workers. 10
This includes meal and rest breaks, clarity on what constitutes 11
working time, sick time to care for themselves and their families, 12
and the freedom from discrimination and sexual harassment.13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The definitions in this section apply 14
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires 15
otherwise.16
(1) "Casual labor" means work that is irregular, uncertain, and 17
incidental in nature and duration and is different in nature from the 18
type of paid work in which the worker is customarily engaged in.19
(2) "Department" means the department of labor and industries.20
H-0277.1
HOUSE BILL 1561
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Stonier, Ortiz-Self, Fosse, Berry, Ramel, Reed,
Gregerson, Parshley, Salahuddin, Peterson, Taylor, Ormsby, Scott,
Macri, Doglio, Hill, Thomas, and Simmons
Read first time 01/23/25. Referred to Committee on Labor & Workplace
Standards.
p. 1 HB 1561

(3) "Director" means the director of labor and industries.1
(4) "Domestic service" means services related to the care of 2
persons in private homes or the maintenance of private homes or their 3
premises.4
(5)(a) "Domestic worker" includes hourly and salaried employees 5
and includes any worker who:6
(i) Works for one or more hiring entity; and7
(ii) Is an individual who works in residences as a nanny, house 8
cleaner, home care worker, cook, gardener, or household manager, or 9
for any domestic service purpose including but not limited to: Caring 10
for a child; providing support services for a person who is sick, 11
convalescing, elderly, or a person with a disability; providing 12
housekeeping or house cleaning services; cooking; providing food or 13
butler services; parking cars; cleaning laundry; gardening; or 14
working as a household manager.15
(b) "Domestic worker" does not include:16
(i) Persons who provide babysitting on a casual labor basis;17
(ii) Any individual employed in casual labor in or about a 18
private home, unless performed in the course of the hiring entity's 19
trade, business, or profession;20
(iii) Individual providers, as defined in RCW 74.39A.240;21
(iv) Persons who perform house sitting, pet sitting, and dog 22
walking duties that do not involve domestic service; or23
(v) Any individual in a family relationship with the hiring 24
entity.25
(6) "Employ" includes to permit to work.26
(7) "Family member" shall be liberally construed to include, but 27
not be limited to, a parent, child, sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin, 28
grandparent, grandchild, grandniece, or grandnephew, or such 29
relatives when related by marriage.30
(8) "Hiring entity" means any employer, as defined in RCW 31
49.46.010, and in RCW 49.60.040, who employs a domestic worker, as 32
well as any individual, partnership, association, corporation, 33
business trust, or any combination thereof, which pays a wage or pays 34
wages for the services of a domestic worker. It includes any such 35
entity, person, or group of persons that provides compensation 36
directly or indirectly to a domestic worker for the performance of 37
domestic services and any such entity, person, or persons acting 38
directly or indirectly in the interest of the hiring entity in 39
relation to the worker. "Hiring entity" does not include state 40
p. 2 HB 1561

agencies or in-home services agencies as defined in RCW 70.127.010 to 1
the extent that the home care services are funded through RCW 2
74.39A.310.3
(9) "Standard rate of pay" means the agreed-upon rate of pay 4
between the hiring entity and domestic worker, as reflected in the 5
written agreement.6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A hiring entity employing a domestic 7
worker must follow these requirements:8
(1) A hiring entity employing a domestic worker shall pay the 9
domestic worker at least the minimum hourly rate as provided by RCW 10
49.46.020. This constitutes a wage payment requirement as defined in 11
RCW 49.48.082.12
(2) A hiring entity employing a domestic worker shall pay the 13
domestic worker an overtime wage at a rate of one and one-half times 14
the worker's regular rate for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a 15
workweek as provided by RCW 49.46.130. This constitutes a wage 16
payment requirement as defined in RCW 49.48.082.17
(3) Domestic workers are entitled to an uninterrupted me