Washington HB 1934: Enacting the Washington voting rights act.

Bill Text

CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
HOUSE BILL 1934
Chapter 283, Laws of 2025
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session
PUBLIC RECORDS ACT EXEMPTION—EMPLOYMENT INVESTIGATIONS—MODIFICATION
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 27, 2025
Passed by the House April 22, 2025
Yeas 92 Nays 5
LAURIE JINKINS
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
Passed by the Senate April 8, 2025
Yeas 48 Nays 1
DENNY HECK
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 HOUSE
BILL 1934 as passed by the House of
Representatives and the Senate on
the dates hereon set forth.
BERNARD DEAN
Chief Clerk
Approved May 15, 2025 1:47 PM FILED
May 19, 2025
BOB FERGUSON
Governor of the State of Washington
Secretary of State
State of Washington

AN ACT Relating to the disclosure of information pertaining to 1
complainants, accusers, and witnesses in an employment investigation; 2
and reenacting and amending RCW 42.56.250.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 42.56.250 and 2023 c 458 s 1, 2023 c 361 s 15, and 5
2023 c 45 s 1 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:6
(1) The following employment and licensing information is exempt 7
from public inspection and copying under this chapter:8
(a) Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used 9
to administer a license, employment, or academic examination;10
(b) All applications for public employment other than for 11
vacancies in elective office, including the names of applicants, 12
resumes, and other related materials submitted with respect to an 13
applicant;14
(c) Professional growth plans (PGPs) in educator license renewals 15
submitted through the eCert system in the office of the 16
superintendent of public instruction;17
(d) The following information held by any public agency in 18
personnel records, public employment related records, volunteer 19
rosters, or included in any mailing list of employees or volunteers 20
of any public agency: Residential addresses, residential telephone 21
HOUSE BILL 1934
AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
Passed Legislature - 2025 Regular Session
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Chase, Doglio, and Schmidt
Read first time 02/11/25. Referred to Committee on State Government
& Tribal Relations.
p. 1 HB 1934.SL

numbers, personal wireless telephone numbers, personal email 1
addresses, social security numbers, driver's license numbers, 2
identicard numbers, payroll deductions including the amount and 3
identification of the deduction, and emergency contact information of 4
employees or volunteers of a public agency, and the names, dates of 5
birth, residential addresses, residential telephone numbers, personal 6
wireless telephone numbers, personal email addresses, social security 7
numbers, and emergency contact information of dependents of employees 8
or volunteers of a public agency. For purposes of this subsection 9
(1)(d), "employees" includes independent provider home care workers 10
as defined in RCW 74.39A.240;11
(e) Information that identifies a person who, while an agency 12
employee: (i) Seeks advice, under an informal process established by 13
the employing agency, in order to ascertain his or her rights in 14
connection with a possible unfair practice under chapter 49.60 RCW 15
against the person; and (ii) requests his or her identity or any 16
identifying information not be disclosed;17
(f) ((Investigative)) (i) Except as provided in (f)(ii) of this 18
subsection, investigative records compiled by an employing agency in 19
connection with an investigation of a possible unfair practice under 20
chapter 49.60 RCW or of a possible violation of other federal, state, 21
or local laws or an employing agency's internal policies prohibiting 22
discrimination or harassment in employment. Records are exempt in 23
their entirety while the investigation is active and ongoing. After 24
the agency has notified the complaining employee of the outcome of 25
the investigation, the records may be disclosed only if the names, 26
images, employee agency job titles, email addresses, and phone 27
numbers of complainants, other accusers, and witnesses are redacted 28
and their voices on any audio recording taken during the course of 29
the investigation have been altered while retaining inflection and 30
tone, ((unless)) except to the extent that such a complainant, other 31
accuser, or witness has consented to the disclosure of ((his or her 32
name)) such information. The employing agency must inform a 33
complainant, other accuser, or witness that his or her name, image, 34
agency job title, email address, and phone number will be redacted 35
from the investigation records and their voice on any audio recording 36
taken during the course of the investigation will be altered in 37
accordance with this subsection unless he or she consents to 38
disclosure;39
p. 2 HB 1934.SL

(ii) After the investig