Immigrant workers

AN ACT Relating to protecting immigrant workers; adding a new 1
chapter to Title 49 RCW; creating a new section; prescribing 2
penalties; and declaring an emergency. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that immigrant 5
workers contribute to Washington state's strong economy. According to 6
research from the immigration research initiative, immigrants account 7
for 15 percent of the population in Washington state, yet contribute 8
21 percent of economic output, or gross domestic product (GDP). 9
Immigrant workers contribute an estimated $145,000,000,000 to 10
Washington state's GDP per year.11
(2) The legislature finds that civil immigration enforcement 12
through workplace raids conducted by the federal government is 13
disruptive to families and communities, reduces community safety, and 14
is ineffective at deterring illegal conduct by employers or raising 15
standards for workers. 16
(3) The legislature finds that employers could benefit from 17
clarity about their rights and responsibilities when engaging with 18
federal agencies that conduct form I-9 audits. The legislature seeks 19
to provide resources and support to employers about their rights and 20
the rights of their workers. 21
Z-0505.2
HOUSE BILL 2105
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Ortiz-Self, Mena, Farivar, Cortes, Berry, Ramel,
Fosse, Parshley, Ryu, Stearns, Doglio, Simmons, Peterson, Reed,
Obras, Santos, Zahn, Fitzgibbon, Street, Wylie, Scott, Thomas, Duerr,
Stonier, Gregerson, Ormsby, Callan, Goodman, Reeves, Thai, Macri,
Bergquist, Salahuddin, Hill, Davis, and Pollet; by request of
Attorney General
Prefiled 12/08/25. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on Labor & Workplace Standards.
p. 1 HB 2105
(4) The legislature finds that protecting Washingtonians who are 1
abiding by our state laws and keeping families together is an urgent 2
statewide priority. 3
(5) The legislature therefore intends to require Washington 4
employers to provide notice to workers in the event of a form I-9 5
audit and provide additional protections and support for workers and 6
employers. 7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The definitions in this section apply 8
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires 9
otherwise.10
(1) "Affected worker" means a worker identified by the federal 11
agency inspection results to be a worker who may lack federal work 12
authorization, or a worker whose federal work authorization documents 13
or form I-9 have been identified by the federal agency inspection 14
results to have deficiencies. 15
(2) "Employ" means to suffer or permit to work.16
(3) "Employer" means any person, firm, corporation, partnership, 17
business trust, legal representative, or other business entity which 18
engages in any business, industry, profession, or activity in this 19
state and employs one or more workers, and includes the state, any 20
state institution, state agency, political subdivisions of the state, 21
and any municipal corporation or quasi-municipal corporation.22
(4) "Federal agency" means an agency of the United States 23
government that enforces or aids in enforcing United States federal 24
civil immigration laws or employment eligibility inspections, 25
including but not limited to any person or class of persons 26
authorized to perform the functions of an immigration officer as 27
defined in the immigration and nationality act, without regard to the 28
agency for whom the person is employed. Officials from the United 29
States department of homeland security, department of justice 30
immigrant and employee rights section or its successor, and 31
department of labor are presumed to be included in this definition 32
when on duty. 33
(5) "Form I-9" refers to the United States citizenship and 34
immigration services employment eligibility verification form used by 35
employers to comply with 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1324a (b) to verify the 36
identity and employment authorization of employees.37
(6) "Worker" means any person employed by an employer.38
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(7) "Worker records" means documentation that includes a worker's 1
first name or first initial and last name in combination with any one 2
or more of the following data elements: (a) Social security number; 3
(b) driver's license number or Washington identification card number; 4
(c) residential address; (d) student, military, or passport 5
identification number; (e) biometric data generated by automatic 6
measurements of an individual's biological characteristics such as a 7
fingerprint, voiceprint, eye retinas, irises, or other unique 8
biological patterns or characteristics that is used to identify a 9
specific individual; (f) information that includes a geolocation 10
component that could be used to identify a worker's location. "Worker 11
records" also includes documentation that includes the first name or 12
first initial and last name of a family member of a worker in 13
combination with the data elements outlined in this subsection.14
(8) "Worker's authorized representative" means an exclusive 15
collective bargaining representative or a third party designated by 16
the worker. 17
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) By July 1, 2026, all employers must 18
post a notice about worker rights under this act and keep it posted 19
in a conspicuous place where other required employment posters are 20
posted. The attorney general shall create a poster that will include 21
space in which an employer must provide information on where they 22
will post notices required under this act. The attorney general shall 23
make the poster available on its website and may make the poster 24
available in other formats.25
(2) An employer must, within 72 hours of receiving notification 26
from a federal agency of any inspections of I-9 forms or worker 27
records, provide a notice to each worker and the worker's authorized 28
representative. 29
(3) The employer must provide notice of the upcoming inspection 30
by: 31
(a) Posting a notice in a conspicuous and accessible location, in 32
each of the five most widely used non-English languages in the state. 33
The posted notice must contain the following information:34
(i) The name of the federal agency which will be conducting the 35
inspections of I-9 forms or other worker records; 36
(ii) The date that the employer received notice of the 37
inspection; 38
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(iii) The nature of the inspection to the extent known by the 1
employer; 2
(iv) A copy of the notice of inspection of I-9 forms for the 3
inspection to be conducted; and 4
(v) Contact information, prescribed by the attorney general, for 5
a statewide organization that provides information and advocacy 6
related to immigrant and refugee rights, with access to 7
interpretation; 8
(b) Making a reasonable attempt to individually distribute 9
notifications to all workers by hand and telephonically; and10
(c) Providing written notice to the workers' authorized 11
representatives, if any. 12
(4) Within 72 hours of receiving notification of any inspections 13
of I-9 forms or other worker records conducted by a federal agency, 14
employers must send written notices to the last known addresses of 15
all workers employed by the employer in the last three years. The 16
written notice must include all the same information required to be 17
included in the posted notice to all current workers, including the 18
name of the federal agency which will be conducting the inspections 19
of I-9 forms or other worker records. 20
(5) On or before July 1, 2026, the attorney general shall develop 21
and provide a template posting that employers may use to comply with 22
the requirement to inform workers of a notice of inspection to be 23
conducted of I-9 forms or other worker records conducted by a federal 24
agency. The posting must be available on the attorney general's 25
website so that it is accessible to any employer. The attorney 26
general shall make the template available in English and in each of 27
the five most commonly used non-English languages in the state.28
(6) An employer must provide to each current affected worker, and 29
to the worker's authorized representative, if any, a copy of the 30
written notice from the federal agency that provides the results of 31
the inspection of I-9 forms or other worker records within 72 hours 32
of its receipt of the notice, unless a shorter timeline is provided 33
for under federal law or a collective bargaining agreement. Within 72 34
hours of its receipt of this notice, unless a shorter timeline is 35
provided for under federal law or a collective bargaining agreement, 36
the employer must also provide to each affected worker, and to the 37
affected worker's authorized representative, if any, written notice 38
of the obligations of the employer and the affected worker arising 39
from the results of the inspection of I-9 forms or other worker 40
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records. The notice must relate to the affected worker only and must 1
be redacted in compliance with state and federal privacy laws. The 2
employer must notify the worker in person and deliver the 3
notification by hand. If hand delivery is not possible, then the 4
employer must notify the worker by mail and email, if the email 5
address of the worker is known, and must notify the worker's 6
authorized representative, if any. The employer must also notify the 7
worker telephonically. The notice must contain the following 8
information: 9
(a) A description of any and all deficiencies or other items 10
identified in the written immigration inspection results notice 11
related to the affected worker; 12
(b) The time period for correcting any potential deficiencies 13
identified by the federal agency; 14
(c) The time and date of any meeting with the employer to correct 15
any identified deficiencies; and 16
(d) Notice that the worker has the right to representation during 17
any meeting scheduled with the employer. 18
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Employers are not required by law to 19
perform form I-9 self-audits. Any form I-9 self-audit must comply 20
with all applicable federal, state, and local antidiscrimination and 21
antiretaliation laws including, but not limited to: 8 U.S.C. Sec. 22
1324b, 29 U.S.C. Secs. 201–219, 29 U.S.C. Secs. 151–169, 42 U.S.C. 23
Sec. 2000e et seq. , chapter 49.60 RCW, and chapter 49.46 RCW. Any 24
form I-9 self-audit must also comply with applicable collective 25
bargaining agreements. An employer shall not impose work 26
authorization verification or reverification requirements greater 27
than those required by federal law.28
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. On or before July 1, 2026, the attorney 29
general shall issue guidance clarifying employers' rights to restrict 30
access to nonpublic areas in a place of labor. The guidance shall be 31
available on the attorney general's website so that it is accessible 32
to any employer. The attorney general shall make the guidance 33
available in English and in each of the five most commonly used non-34
English languages in the state.35
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) Except as otherwise required by 36
federal law, and except as provided in subsection (2) of this 37
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section, an employer, or a person acting on behalf of the employer, 1
may not provide voluntary consent to federal agencies to access, 2
review, or obtain the employer's worker records without a subpoena or 3
judicial warrant. This section does not prohibit an employer, or 4
person acting on behalf of an employer, from challenging the validity 5
of a subpoena or judicial warrant in a federal district court.6
(2) This section does not apply to I-9 forms and other documents 7
for which a notice of inspection has been provided to the employer.8
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) It is unlawful for an employer to 9
interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of any worker's rights 10
provided under or in connection with this chapter. This means an 11
employer may not use a worker's exercise of any of the rights 12
provided under this chapter as a negative factor in any employment 13
action such as evaluation, promotion, or termination, or otherwise 14
subject a worker to discipline for the exercise of any rights 15
provided under this chapter.16
(2) It is unlawful for an employer to take any adverse action 17
against a worker because the worker has exercised their rights 18
provided under this chapter. Such rights include, but are not limited 19
to: Filing a complaint or action, or instituting or causing to be 20
instituted any proceeding under or related to this chapter; 21
participating in any investigation or proceeding regarding any rights 22
provided under this chapter; or testifying or intending to testify in 23
any such proceeding related to any rights provided under this 24
chapter. 25
(3) "Adverse action" means any action taken or threatened by an 26
employer against a worker for their exercise of rights under this 27
chapter, which may include, but is not limited to:28
(a) Denying access to, or delaying payment for, minimum wages, 29
agreed or obligated wages, overtime wages, paid sick leave, piece 30
rate compensation, commissions, nondiscretionary compensation or 31
bonuses, all tips and gratuities, and all service charges, except 32
those service charges itemized as not being payable to the employee 33
or employees servicing the customer; 34
(b) Terminating, suspending, demoting, or denying a promotion;35
(c) Reducing the number of work hours for which the employee is 36
scheduled; 37
(d) Altering the employee's preexisting work schedule;38
(e) Reducing the employee's rate of pay; or 39
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(f) Threatening to take, or taking action, based upon the 1
immigration status of an employee or an employee's family member.2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) The attorney general may investigate 3
complaints and enforce sections 3 through 7 of this act, including by 4
conference and conciliation. The attorney general may: (a) 5
Investigate potential violations of this act on its own initiative or 6
in response to complaints; and (b) issue written civil investigative 7
demands for documents and oral testimony, and answers to written 8
interrogatories. Any personal information about the worker or the 9
worker's family members, including names, in a complaint or 10
investigation is confidential and exempt from public inspection, 11
copying, or disclosure under chapter 42.56 RCW. 12
(2) An employer who violates any provision of sections 3 through 13
7 of this act is subject to penalties, recoverable by the attorney 14
general, for civil enforcement expenses. 15
(a)(i) The minimum base penalty to the attorney general for a 16
first violation of any provision of sections 3 through 7 of this act 17
is $2,000 times the number of Washington-based workers the employer 18
employs at the time of the violation. Each Washington-based worker 19
counts as one worker for the purposes of determining the penalty 20
multiplier, regardless of whether that worker works full time or part 21
time. 22
(ii) If the attorney general determines that the first violation 23
of a provision of sections 3 through 7 of this act was a willful 24
violation, the penalty to the attorney general's civil enforcement 25
expenses increases to $5,000 times the number of Washington-based 26
workers the employer employs at the time of the violation.27
(b) On a second or subsequent violation of a provision of 28
sections 3 through 7 of this act, the base penalty to the attorney 29
general's civil enforcement expenses is double the penalty assessed 30
for the previous violation, or $10,000 times the number of 31
Washington-based workers the employer employs at the time of the 32
violation, whichever is higher. 33
(3) The attorney general may pursue legal action to enjoin 34
violations of this act, obtain the penalty outlined in this section, 35
and seek any other appropriate relief at law or equity including 36
actual damages and any reasonable costs and attorneys' fees.37
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(4) In addition to enforcement conducted by the attorney general, 1
a worker, former worker, or a person otherwise believed to be injured 2
by a violation of any provision of sections 3 through 7 of this act 3
or an organization whose membership includes any such person may 4
enforce this act through a private cause of action in superior court 5
to enjoin further violations and recover actual damages together with 6
reasonable attorneys' fees and costs and any other equitable relief 7
or appropriate remedy authorized by state or federal law. If the 8
court finds that the respondent has violated this chapter, it shall 9
award damages up to and including an amount equal to actual damages, 10
or statutory damages equivalent to 80 times the hourly Washington 11
state minimum wage as defined in RCW 49.46.020, per plaintiff per 12
violation, whichever is greater. 13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. In accordance with state and federal law, 14
nothing in this chapter may be interpreted, construed, or applied to 15
restrict or limit an employer's compliance with a memorandum of 16
understanding governing the use of the federal E-Verify system or 17
with federal law and regulations regarding employers' verification of 18
worker's employment authorization.19
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. If any provision of this act or its 20
application to any person or circumstance is found to be in conflict 21
with any other federal or state law or otherwise held invalid, the 22
conflicting or invalid provision is inoperative solely to the extent 23
of such conflict or holding and the remainder of the act or the 24
application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not 25
affected. No section of this act is intended to limit or prohibit any 26
employer from complying with any other state or federal law.27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Nothing in this chapter may be construed 28
to limit or affect: (1) The right of any worker to pursue any 29
judicial, administrative, or other action available with respect to 30
an employer; (2) the department of labor and industries' authority to 31
pursue any judicial, administrative, or other action available with 32
respect to a worker; or (3) the department of labor and industries' 33
authority to pursue any judicial, administrative, or other action 34
available with respect to an employer.35
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NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. This act may be known and cited as the 1
immigrant worker protection act.2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Sections 1 through 11 of this act 3
constitute a new chapter in Title 49 RCW.4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. This act is necessary for the immediate 5
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of 6
the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes 7
effect immediately.8
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