wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 1524 > Substitute Bill
Every hotel, motel, retail, or security guard entity, or property services contractor, who employs an isolated employee, must:
Adopt a sexual harassment policy;
Provide mandatory training to the employer's managers, supervisors, and isolated employees to:
Prevent sexual assault and sexual harassment in the workplace;
Prevent sexual discrimination in the workplace;
Educate the employer's workforce regarding protection for isolated employees who report violations of a state or federal law, rule, or regulation; and
Inform isolated employees on how to use panic buttons, and inform managers and supervisors on the responsibility to respond to the use of panic buttons;
Provide a list of resources for the employer's isolated employees to utilize. At a minimum, the resources must include contact information of the equal employment opportunity commission, the Washington state human rights commission, and local advocacy groups focused on preventing sexual harassment and sexual assault;
Provide a panic button to each isolated employee. An employer must maintain a record of the purchase and utilization of panic buttons provided to its isolated employees under this section. Records must be provided to the department upon request. The department must publish advice and guidance for employers with fifty or fewer employees relating to this subsection (1)(d). This subsection (1)(d) does not apply to contracted security guard companies licensed under chapter 18.170 RCW; and
Document completion of the mandatory training required by this subsection and provide the documentation to the department upon request.
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A property services contractor shall submit the following to the department on an annual basis on a form or in a manner determined by the department:
The date of adoption of the sexual harassment policy required in subsection (1)(a) of this section;
The number of managers, supervisors, and isolated employees trained as required by subsection (1)(b) of this section; and
The physical address of the work location or locations at which janitorial services are provided by workers of the property services contractor, and for each location: (A) The total number of workers or contractors of the property services contractor who perform janitorial services; and (B) the total hours worked.
The department must make aggregate data submitted as required in this subsection (2) available upon request.
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The department must investigate if a complaint is filed with the department alleging a violation of this section or if the department has reason to believe that an employer has committed a violation of this section.
Except when a violation is otherwise resolved, the department must issue: (i) A citation assessing a civil penalty under (c) of this subsection if it finds a violation has occurred; or (ii) a closure letter detailing any findings if it finds that a violation cannot be substantiated. The notice of a citation or closure letter must be sent to the employer by service of process or using a method by which the mailing can be tracked or the delivery can be confirmed to the last known address.
If the department finds a violation of this section, the department may order the employer to pay the department a civil penalty of $1,000 for each willful violation. For a repeat willful violator, the citation assessing a civil penalty must be at least $2,000 for each repeat willful violation, but no greater than $10,000 for each repeat willful violation. The department may, at any time, waive or reduce a civil penalty assessed under this section if the department determines that the employer has taken corrective action to resolve the violation. Penalties collected under this section must be deposited into the supplemental pension fund established under RCW 51.44.033.
An employer who fails to comply with the department's investigation of records within a reasonable time period may not use such records in any appeal to challenge the correctness of any determination by the department.
For the purposes of this section:
"Department" means the department of labor and industries.
"Isolated employee" means an employee who:
i.(A) Performs work in an area where two or more coworkers, supervisors, or a combination thereof are unable to immediately respond to a call of distress or emergency; or (B) spends at least 50 percent of her or his working hours without a supervisor or another coworker present; and
"Employer" means any person, association, partnership, property services contractor, or public or private corporation, whether for-profit or not, who employs one or more persons.
"Panic button" means an emergency contact device carried by an isolated employee by which the isolated employee may summon immediate on-scene assistance from another worker, a security guard, or a representative of the employer.
A panic button must:
i. Be designed to be carried by the isolated employee;
ii. Be simple to activate without delays caused by entering passwords or waiting for the system to turn on;
iii. Provide an effective signal for the circumstances when activated;
iv. Be able to summon immediate assistance and allow responders to accurately identify the isolated employee's location;
v. Function reliably in all locations on all shifts and, when activated, not obscure or interfere with the activation of other panic buttons; and
vi. Be designed to minimize inadvertent activation and be resistant to disabling by an attacker.
e. "Property services contractor" means any person or entity that employs workers: (i) To perform labor for another person to provide commercial janitorial services; or (ii) on behalf of an employer to provide commercial janitorial services. "Property services contractor" does not mean the employment security department or individuals who perform labor under an agreement for exchanging their own labor or services with each other, provided the work is performed on land owned or leased by the individuals.
f. "Repeat willful violator" means any employer that has been the subject of a final and binding citation for a willful violation of one or more requirements under this section and all applicable rules, within three years of the date of issuance of the most recent citation for a willful violation of one or more requirements.
g. "Security guard" means an individual who is principally employed as, or typically referred to as, a security officer or guard, regardless of whether the individual is employed by a private security company or a single employer or whether the individual is required to be licensed under chapter 18.170 RCW.
h. "Willful" means a knowing and intentional action that is neither accidental nor the result of a bona fide dispute.
It is an unfair practice for any employer:
To refuse to hire any person because of age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification: PROVIDED, That the prohibition against discrimination because of such disability shall not apply if the particular disability prevents the proper performance of the particular worker involved: PROVIDED, That this section shall not be construed to require an employer to establish employment goals or quotas based on sexual orientation.
To discharge or bar any person from employment because of age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability.
To discriminate against any person in compensation or in other terms or conditions of employment because of age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability: PROVIDED, That it shall not be an unfair practice for an employer to segregate washrooms or locker facilities on the basis of sex, or to base other terms and conditions of employment on the sex of employees where the commission by regulation or ruling in a particular instance has found the employment practice to be appropriate for the practical realization of equality of opportunity between the sexes.
To print, or circulate, or cause to be printed or circulated any statement, advertisement, or publication, or to use any form of application for employment, or to make any inquiry in connection with prospective employment, which expresses any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or discrimination, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification: PROVIDED, Nothing contained herein shall prohibit advertising in a foreign language.
To fail to provide a panic button to an isolated employee in accordance with the requirements of RCW 49.60.515.
This act takes effect January 1, 2026.