Washington HB 1173: Concerning wages for journeypersons in high-hazard facilities.

Bill Text

CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 1173
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session
Passed by the House April 17, 2025
Yeas 89 Nays 7
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
Passed by the Senate April 10, 2025
Yeas 44 Nays 5
President of the Senate
CERTIFICATE
I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the
House of Representatives of the
State of Washington, do hereby
certify that the attached is
ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 1173 as passed
by the House of Representatives and
the Senate on the dates hereon set
forth.
Chief Clerk
Approved FILED
Governor of the State of Washington
Secretary of State
State of Washington

AN ACT Relating to wages for journeypersons in high-hazard 1
facilities; amending RCW 49.80.010 and 49.80.040; and providing an 2
effective date.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 49.80.010 and 2019 c 306 s 1 are each amended to 5
read as follows:6
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter 7
unless the context clearly requires otherwise.8
(1) "Applicable occupation" means the specific trade or 9
occupation for the work performed under this chapter as defined by 10
the scope of work description under chapter 39.12 RCW and associated 11
rules, or defined by the standard occupational classification 12
description.13
(2) "Apprenticeable occupation" means an occupation for which an 14
apprenticeship program has been approved by the Washington state 15
apprenticeship and training council pursuant to chapter 49.04 RCW.16
(((2))) (3) "Department" means the department of labor and 17
industries.18
(((3))) (4) "On-site work" does not include ship and rail car 19
support activities; environmental inspection and testing; security 20
guard services; work which is performed by an original equipment 21
ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 1173
AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
Passed Legislature - 2025 Regular Session
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Bronoske, Berry, Reed, Ramel, Obras, Fosse,
Simmons, Ortiz-Self, Goodman, Gregerson, Pollet, Nance, Ormsby,
Lekanoff, and Hill
Prefiled 01/06/25. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee
on Labor & Workplace Standards.
p. 1 EHB 1173.PL

manufacturer for warranty, repair, or maintenance on the vendor's 1
equipment if required by the original equipment manufacturer's 2
warranty agreement between the original equipment manufacturer and 3
the owner; industrial cleaning not related to construction; safety 4
services requiring professional safety certification; nonconstruction 5
catalyst loading, regeneration, and removal; chemical purging and 6
cleaning; refinery by-product separation and recovery; inspection 7
services not related to construction; and work performed that is not 8
in an apprenticeable occupation.9
(((4))) (5) "Prevailing ((hourly wage)) rate of wage" has the 10
same meaning as provided ((for "prevailing rate of wage")) in RCW 11
39.12.010.12
(((5))) (6) "Registered apprentice" means an apprentice who meets 13
all the following criteria:14
(a) Is registered in an apprenticeship program approved by the 15
Washington state apprenticeship and training council according to 16
chapter 49.04 RCW;17
(b) Has received written notification from the employer 18
identifying his or her applicable occupation and wage rates prior to 19
performing work, a copy of which must be maintained in the employee's 20
personnel file by the employer; and21
(c) Is only performing work within the applicable occupation of 22
the apprenticeship program in which he or she is registered.23
(((6))) (7) "Skilled and trained workforce" means a workforce 24
that meets both of the following criteria:25
(a) All the workers are either registered apprentices or skilled 26
journeypersons; and27
(b) The workforce meets the apprenticeship graduation and 28
approved advanced safety training requirements established in RCW 29
49.80.030.30
(((7))) (8) "Skilled journeyperson" means a worker who meets all 31
of the following criteria:32
(a) The worker either graduated from an apprenticeship program 33
for the applicable occupation that was approved by the Washington 34
state apprenticeship and training council according to chapter 49.04 35
RCW, or has at least as many hours of on-the-job experience in the 36
applicable occupation that would be required to graduate from an 37
apprenticeship program approved by the Washington state 38
apprenticeship and training council according to chapter 49.04 RCW; 39
and40
p. 2 EHB 1173.PL

(b) The ((worker is being paid)) worker's wage payment 1
requirement is at least a rate commensurate with the wages typically 2
paid for the occupation in the applicable geographic area, subject to 3
the following provisions:4
(i) The prevailing wage rate paid for a worker in the applicable 5
occupation and geographic area on public works projects may be used 6
to determine the appropriate rate of pay, however, this subsection 7
(((7)(b))) (8)(b) does not require a contractor to pay prevailing 8
wage rat