Summer 2025 Edition
Business Minute with Maggie
Calling All Business Owners and Employers: We Want to Hear From You!
Summer is Starting And So Are Several Changes
What You Need to Know About Youth Worker Updates
Did You Know?
Online Tariff Information and Resource Guide
Construction and Trades Updates
Workplace Rights Refresher: Common Mistakes to Avoid
Seasonal Safety
Resource Roundup: This Quarter’s Essential Tool
3rd Quarter Webinars for Small Businesses
Business Minute with Maggie
Happy summer, Business Buddies!
I've got a lot of updates to share with you as we kick off the summer season. In this edition of the Small Business Newsletter, I'll get you up to speed on regional minimum wage updates, new teen worker rules, a variety of new changes that will affect employers, plus some resources and everyone's favorite – trivial tidbits.
What are you looking forward to as the temperatures rise? For me, I relish the return of farmers markets. How about a big bowl of those Rainier cherries? That's pretty hard to beat! I'm so thankful for the amazing produce from our Washington agricultural industry.
Whatever you're looking forward to this summer, be sure to stay hydrated, wear your sunscreen, and reach out to your friendly friends at L&I when you've got small business questions.
Your pal at L&I,
Maggie Hammond
Assistant Small Business Liaison
Calling All Business Owners and Employers: We Want to Hear From You!
 |
|
L&I would love to hear from you about how we are doing! In this brief and confidential survey, you’ll have the opportunity to share your experiences and feedback with L&I. Your input helps the agency understand what we’re doing well and what we can do to better serve you.
L&I thanks you for your participation!
|
Summer is Starting and So Are Several Changes
There are several new changes that will impact business owners and employers. Stay in the know and see below for a summary.
|
Who does this effect?
|
Effective date
|
Summary
|
|
Employers with employees in Bellingham
|
05/01/2025
|
City of Bellingham regional minimum wage increased to $18.66/hour.
|
|
Employers with employees in Tukwila, Renton, Burien, and Everett
|
07/01/2025
|
Cities of Tukwila, Renton, Burien, Everett regional minimum wage increases. Each region has specific ordinances.
|
|
All employers - workplace rights
|
07/01/2025
|
SSB 5104: Immigration Status Coercion
Employers may not use immigration status to coerce an employee from engaging in protected activities or exercising labor law rights. Workers may file a complaint with L&I that are enforceable with civil penalties.
|
|
All employers - workplace rights
|
07/01/2025
|
SHB 1905: Equal Pay and Opportunities Act Expansion
An employer cannot discriminate in compensation or career advancement opportunities against similarly employed employees based on the employee's membership in a protected class. Protected class means a person's 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, as those terms are defined under the Washington Law Against Discrimination.
|
|
All employers - job posting
|
07/27/2025
|
SSB 5501: Employee Driving Requirement
Employers cannot require a valid driver’s license as a condition of employment or include such a statement in a job posting unless driving is one of the essential job functions or is related to a legitimate business purpose for a position.
|
|
All employers & Transportation Network Companies - sick leave usage
|
07/27/2025
|
ESHB 1875: Sick Leave Usage for Immigration Proceedings
Employees and Transportation Network Company Drivers may use paid sick leave for absences resulting from the need to prepare for or participate in judicial or administrative immigration proceedings involving the employee or the employee's family member.
-
If verification for an absence exceeding three days is required, the employer must accept documentation from an advocate, attorney, member of the clergy, or other professional who is assisting the employee or the employee's family member in the proceeding.
-
Employers must also accept an employee's written statement describing the employee's or the employee's family member's involvement in a qualifying proceeding.
-
Documentation or written statement must not disclose any personally identifiable information about an employee's or an employee's family member's immigration status or underlying immigration protection.
|
|
All employers - job postings
|
07/27/2025
|
SSB 5408: Wage and Salary Disclosures
Employers may disclose a fixed wage amount rather than a scale or range if offering only a fixed wage amount for a job opening. From July 27, 2025 to July 27, 2027, employers must be given the chance to correct a violation before a job applicant can seek administrative remedies or file a private right of action.
|
|
All employers - record-keeping
|
07/27/2025
|
SHB 1308: Employee Access to Personnel Files
Employers are required to provide employees and former employees with a copy of their personnel file. Upon request, employers must also provide former employees with a written statement indicating the employee’s discharge date and the reason for separation. Employers must respond to both requests within 21 calendar days.
Key points for employers:
|
 |
Trivial Tidbit #1
Platypuses are biofluorescent, so they glow under a UV light.
|
|
 |
What You Need to Know About Youth Worker Updates
Do you have teen workers? Here are the new changes affecting youth labor laws.
Remember your first job? For me, it was at a little family-owned Italian restaurant in my hometown. What a fun memory! Let’s help today’s teens keep their first job experiences positive by staying in the know on youth worker safety and health rules.
New changes to laws effective this summer:
|
What does this affect?
|
Effective date
|
Summary
|
|
The safety and health of working minors
|
07/01/2025
|
ESHB 1644: Increased Penalties for Violations
For both agricultural and non-agricultural industries, L&I has the authority to impose citations with penalties for violations of youth labor laws. This increases penalties for violations for not having a minor work permit, not maintaining parent/school authorization forms, failing to comply with meal or rest breaks, and more. Employers with serious or repeated violations may have their minor work permit revoked for a minimum of one year.
|
|
Students in secondary career and technical education programs and other state-approved career pathways
|
07/27/2025
|
HB1722: Approved Duties Expand for Career/Tech and Approved Secondary Pathways Students
Allows minors to work around bodily fluids if they have a valid professional license or certification issued by the Department of Health with competency in relevant procedures for preventing transmission of bloodborne pathogens and infectious diseases.
|
|
Restrictions on the working conditions and hours of sixteen- and seventeen-year olds
|
07/01/2026
|
SHB1121: Increase of Approved Work Hours
Allows minors enrolled in certain educational programs to work the same hours during the school year as during school vacations.
|
Tips for Teen Safety:
Young workers are particularly vulnerable due to inexperience, lack of training, and potential hesitancy to ask questions. Watch this video with your teen or young employee. Encourage them to speak up if they don't understand something or feel unsafe.
STOP young worker injuries
For ideas on how to keep your teen workers safe, visit the Young Worker Safety & Health page.
 |
|
Did You Know?
As of July 1, 2025, the Office of Minority & Women’s Business Enterprises (OMWBE) will have the state’s first certification program for LGBTQ+-owned small businesses. Visit the OMWBE website for more information.
|
Online Tariff Information and Resource Guide
The Department of Commerce has a guide that outlines recent and proposed tariff actions, resources for mitigating or minimizing tariff exposure, and relevant state and federal resources that can assist businesses as they adapt their operations.
You can even request 1:1 support from the Export Assistance team.
Explore these valuable resources at CHOOSEWashington.
 Construction and Trades Updates
Fee increases and new accommodations effective July 1
For those of you in the construction and trades industries, I’ve got a handful of updates to share.
-
Contractor fee increase
- Effective July 1, 2025:
- Under WAC 296-200A-900, contractor fees will increase 6.41% to support operating expenses for the Contractor Registration Program. The program’s current fee levels are inadequate to cover current expenses. The fee increases will ensure the program’s revenues match expenditures.
- The fee for initial registration and renewal fee, for example, will increase from $132.60 to $141.10.
-
Electrical fee increase
- Effective July 1, 2025:
- Inspection (WAC 296-46B-906), licensing (WAC 296-46B-909), and accreditation (WAC 296-46B-911) fees will increase 6.40% to support operating expenses for the Electrical Program. The current fee levels are not adequate to cover current program expenses. A fee increase is necessary to ensure the program's revenues match expenditures.
- This rulemaking also removes the fee for printed copies of the electrical laws and rules. L&I is no longer providing printed copies, as electronic versions are available online.
-
Accommodations—Menstruation and expression of milk
- Effective July 1, 2025, monetary penalties may be imposed for violations of this section, RCW 49.17.530, which addresses the safety and health issues specific to workers performing construction activities who menstruate or express milk, or both.
|
Trivial Tidbit #2
Although not necessarily common, scorpions can be dried, ground, and used as a cooking seasoning. Bonus tidbit: scorpions are also biofluorescent like the platypus!
|
|
 |
Workplace Rights Refresher: Common Mistakes to Avoid
There's a lot to know as an employer! My goal with the Workplace Rights Refresher segment is to help you get clarity on, and learn about, some of the commonly misunderstood or lesser known employee rights.
Required Labor Posters
There are three labor posters that are required by L&I, plus additional state and federal posters that are required or recommended. These posters need to be displayed where employees report to work. A few key things to know about them:
-
L&I’s Job Safety and Health Law poster replaces the federal OSHA Workplace Poster.
- Reference Workplace Posters: Required and Recommended to know what other state/federal posters you need.
- Posters don't need to be updated every year. Compare the valid date printed on the poster (bottom right by publication number) with the valid date listed on the website to see if you have the most current version.
- The most recent posters are:
- Required labor posters are always free from the issuing agencies for print or delivery. If you are ever asked to purchase the labor posters, be sure to thoroughly research the seller to know if it's a trustworthy source as this is a misleading solicitation we often see.
Rest Breaks and Meal Periods
Employees are entitled to rest breaks and meal periods. Also be aware that employees under 18 and agricultural workers have different standards.
Rest Breaks:
- For every four hours of work, employees must take a 10-minute rest break.
- This break cannot be waived.
- Rest breaks are counted as worked hours when calculating paid sick leave and overtime.
- Employees cannot be required to work more than three hours without a break and the break should be scheduled as close to the midpoint of the four-hour period of time as possible.
Meal Periods:
- For every five hours of work, employees must be offered a 30-minute meal break.
- This break can be waived if both the employee and employer agree. You'll want to keep a written record of that agreement.
- Meal breaks are paid if the employee is required to remain on call or on duty.
- Meal breaks are unpaid if they are free from duty and interruptions.
Visit the rest breaks and meal periods page for more information.
Trivial Tidbit #3
A swarm of ladybugs is called a "loveliness."
|
|
 |
Seasonal Safety
The temperatures may be heating up but you can stay cool with these seasonal safety ideas.
Outdoor workers
Fire hazards, increased construction activities, and outdoor heat all create risks for injuries to outdoor workers during summer months. Plus, heat can make workers more susceptible to falls, equipment-related injuries, and other on-the-job safety hazards. Consider some of the many resources available like:
Head over to the summer section of the seasonal safety page on our website for training materials, videos, and more!
Ergonomics Ideas Bank
A withdrawal from the Ergonomics Ideas Bank won’t cost you a thing. In fact, with sprains and strains being a frequent and costly source of workplace injury claims, the idea bank is likely to save you money!
- Search by industry or hazard type to find all sorts of resources on ergonomic safety.
- And, don’t forget you can always schedule a free consultation!
|
Resource Roundup: This Quarter’s Essential Tool
 |
|
The Small Business Guide is one of my top resources for small businesses. I genuinely use or recommend this resource almost every day! It's a one-stop-shop for regulatory information at the state and federal level. There is a chapter for each 'life cycle' stage of a business from planning to closing. Some of my favorite sections are:
-
Reports and taxes – covers various state, federal, and employment taxes plus reports, licenses, and permits.
-
Payroll calculator – great for estimating the cost of paying employees, including taxes and employer contributions.
-
Hiring employees – ready to hire but not sure where to start? Give this section a look.
-
Employees – overview of training programs, employer accounts, and labor laws.
|
|
 |
|
Trivial Tidbit #4
If you could burn a piece of wood in a contained environment and capture the ash, soot, gases, etc., the mass before and after would be the same. This is an example of the law of conservation of mass which says matter is neither created nor destroyed in a reaction.
|
3rd Quarter Webinars for Small Businesses
L&I Essentials for Business webinars cover:
- Essentials about workers' compensation, quarterly reporting, what to do if your employee is injured, workplace safety and health requirements, wage and hour laws, and contractor registration rules;
- How to access a range of L&I resources and services designed to help your business save time and money; and
- Various ways L&I partners with you to keep your workforce safe and healthy.
Upcoming monthly 80-minute L&I Essentials for Business Webinars:
In-person L&I Essentials for Business Workshops:
Webinars are also available in Spanish (Fundamentos de L&I para negocios - Talleres en línea):
Other L&I Webinars for Employers:
|
