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AN ACT Relating to ensuring accountability for payment of 1
workers' wages and benefits in the construction industry; adding a 2
new section to chapter 18.27 RCW; and adding a new chapter to Title 3
49 RCW. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that:6
(a) There is a substantial underground economy in the 7
construction industry in the state. 8
(b) Underground economy practices, such as misclassifying 9
employees as independent contractors, cost workers an estimated 10
$142.6 million on average per year in wages and benefits between 2011 11
and 2021, according to a 2023 report by the Washington state 12
institute for public policy. 13
(c) State law establishes protections for employees to ensure 14
they are paid wages fully and on time. However, current law does not 15
include a mechanism for a worker employed by a subcontractor to seek 16
payment of unpaid wages and benefits from upper-tier contractors.17
(2) The legislature intends to create additional mechanisms for 18
workers to seek payment of wages and benefits owed to them when those 19
wages and benefits are illegally withheld. 20
H-2607.1
HOUSE BILL 2191
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Cortes, Obras, Parshley, Kloba, Callan, Ramel,
Mena, Doglio, Simmons, Scott, Peterson, Berry, Fosse, Reed,
Salahuddin, Santos, Street, Duerr, Thomas, Stonier, Gregerson,
Ormsby, Berg, Goodman, Macri, Hill, and Pollet
Prefiled 12/23/25. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on Labor & Workplace Standards.
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NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The definitions in this section apply 1
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires 2
otherwise.3
(1) "Construction contract" means an express or implied agreement 4
for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, maintenance, 5
moving, or demolition of any building, structure, or improvement, or 6
relating to the excavation or other development of, or improvement 7
to, land. 8
(2)(a) "Direct contractor" means any person, including a 9
construction manager, joint venture, or any combination thereof, 10
along with the person's successors, that enters into a construction 11
contract with an owner. 12
(b) "Direct contractor" includes any officer, director, managing 13
member, manager, or other individual who exercises substantial 14
discretionary control over the finances, overall management, or 15
employment policies and practices of the entity, regardless of 16
ownership percentage. 17
(3) "Fringe benefit contributions" means the amount of 18
compensation that accompanies or is in addition to an employee's 19
regular salary or wages including, but not limited to, payments made 20
to profit-sharing plans, retirement or pension plans, medical 21
insurance plans, severance pay plans, or holiday, vacation, or sick 22
leave plans, but does not include the benefit payments from such 23
plans. 24
(4)(a) "Owner" means any person, firm, partnership, corporation, 25
association, company, organization, or other entity or combination of 26
any thereof, along with their successors, with an ownership interest, 27
whether that interest or estate is in fee or is less than fee, 28
including as vendee under a contract to purchase or as lessee, that 29
causes: 30
(i) A building, structure, or improvement, new or existing, to be 31
constructed, reconstructed, erected, altered, remodeled, repaired, 32
maintained, moved, or demolished; or 33
(ii) Land to be excavated or otherwise developed or improved.34
(b) "Owner" includes any officer, director, managing member, 35
manager, or other individual who exercises substantial discretionary 36
control over the finances, overall management, or employment policies 37
and practices of the entity, regardless of ownership percentage.38
(c) "Owner" does not include: 39
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(i) An authorized local government, municipality, state, or state 1
agency as defined in RCW 39.04.010; or 2
(ii) A tribe as defined under RCW 43.376.010. 3
(5) "Reimbursements" means necessary expenditures or losses 4
incurred by an employee in direct consequence of the discharge of 5
their duties, including the cost of tools, equipment, personal 6
protective equipment, or other materials required by the employer or 7
by the nature of the work. 8
(6)(a) "Subcontractor" means any person that is a party to an 9
express or implied contract with a direct contractor, or with a 10
direct contractor's subcontractors at any tier, to perform any 11
portion of work within the scope of the direct contractor's 12
construction contract with the owner, including a person that has no 13
direct privity of contract with the direct contractor.14
(b) "Subcontractor" includes any officer, director, managing 15
member, manager, or other individual who exercises substantial 16
discretionary control over the finances, overall management, or 17
employment policies and practices of the entity, regardless of 18
ownership percentage. 19
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) An owner that enters into a 20
construction contract with a direct contractor is jointly and 21
severally liable with the direct contractor for any unpaid wages, 22
including fringe benefit contributions, meal and rest periods, 23
reimbursements, and damages, owed to any employee of the direct 24
contractor and any employee of a subcontractor at any tier for labor 25
performed on a project within the scope of the construction contract.26
(2) The employee, a third party on the employee's behalf, the 27
attorney general, or the prosecuting attorney of any county may bring 28
a civil action against an owner, a direct contractor, or a 29
subcontractor in any court of competent jurisdiction to recover 30
unpaid wages, including fringe benefit contributions, meal and rest 31
periods, reimbursements, interest, penalties, double damages, 32
noneconomic damages, attorney fees, expert witness fees, and costs 33
incurred in connection with the action. "Penalties" and "double 34
damages" under this section are mandatory and may be awarded 35
regardless of whether the failure to pay wages was willful.36
(3) A civil action under this section to recover unpaid wages, 37
including fringe benefit contributions, meal and rest periods, 38
reimbursements, and damages, must commence within three years from 39
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the date on which the unpaid wages, including fringe benefit 1
contributions, meal and rest periods, reimbursements, and damages, 2
became due. 3
(4) The attorney general's powers to enforce this chapter include 4
the authority to: 5
(a) Investigate violations of this chapter on its own initiative;6
(b) Investigate violations of this chapter in response to 7
complaints and seek remedial relief for the complainant;8
(c) Educate the public about how to comply with this chapter;9
(d) Issue written civil investigative demands for pertinent 10
documents, answers to written interrogatories, or oral testimony, as 11
required to enforce this chapter; 12
(e) Adopt rules implementing this chapter including rules 13
specifying applicable penalties; and 14
(f) Pursue administrative sanctions or a lawsuit in the courts 15
for penalties, costs, and attorneys' fees. 16
(5) Except as specified in subsection (10) of this section, any 17
agreement to waive or release an owner or direct contractor from 18
liability, or to indemnify an owner or direct contractor for 19
liability assigned under this section, is invalid.20
(6) An owner or direct contractor may not avoid liability under 21
this section by claiming that a person performing labor on a project 22
within the scope of a construction contract is an independent 23
contractor rather than an employee of a direct contractor or 24
subcontractor, unless the person qualifies as an independent 25
contractor under chapter 49.46 RCW. 26
(7) In any action brought under this section, there is a 27
rebuttable presumption that a person performing labor on a project 28
within the scope of a construction contract is an employee. The party 29
claiming otherwise may rebut the presumption by establishing that the 30
person qualifies as an independent contractor under chapter 49.46 31
RCW. 32
(8) Nothing in this section impairs: 33
(a) The right of an owner or direct contractor to bring an action 34
against a subcontractor to seek recovery of actual and liquidated 35
damages for the amounts paid by the owner or direct contractor for 36
unpaid wages, including fringe benefit contributions, meal and rest 37
periods, reimbursements, interest, double damages, noneconomic 38
damages, attorney fees, expert witness fees, and incurred costs 39
associated with an action brought under this section;40
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(b) The right of an owner to bring an action against a direct 1
contractor to seek recovery of actual and liquidated damages for the 2
amounts paid by the owner for unpaid wages, including fringe benefit 3
contributions, meal and rest periods, reimbursements, interest, 4
double damages, noneconomic damages, attorney fees, expert witness 5
fees, and incurred costs associated with an action brought under this 6
section. 7
(9) Nothing in this section is intended to diminish the rights, 8
privileges, or remedies of an employee under a collective bargaining 9
agreement. 10
(10)(a) A collective bargaining agreement may waive the 11
requirements of this section if the agreement: 12
(i) Is entered into by a bona fide building and construction 13
trade labor organization that has established itself or its 14
affiliates as the collective bargaining representative for persons 15
performing work on a project; 16
(ii) Contains a grievance procedure that results in a final and 17
binding decision; 18
(iii) May be used to recover unpaid wages on behalf of employees 19
covered by the agreement; and 20
(iv) Provides for the collection of unpaid contributions to 21
fringe benefit trust funds established pursuant to 29 U.S.C. Sec. 186 22
(c)(5) and (6), by or on behalf of such trust funds.23
(b) The waiver does not apply to an action brought on behalf of 24
an employee not covered by such collective bargaining agreement.25
(11) An owner, direct contractor, or subcontractor may not 26
intimidate, threaten, restrain, coerce, blacklist, discharge, or in 27
any manner discriminate or retaliate against any employee who has:28
(a) Filed any complaint or instituted, or caused to be 29
instituted, any proceeding under this section; 30
(b) Testified or provided evidence, or who is about to testify or 31
provide evidence, in any proceeding on behalf of themselves or 32
another person regarding protections afforded under this section; or33
(c) Raised concerns in good faith about compliance with, or 34
otherwise provided information regarding, legal rights and remedies 35
available under this section. 36
(12) Any effort to use a person's immigration status to 37
negatively impact a worker's wage and hour rights, responsibilities, 38
or participation in proceedings under this section constitutes 39
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intimidation, coercion, discrimination, or retaliation in violation 1
of subsection (11) of this section. 2
(13) Any violation of subsection (11) of this section entitles 3
the employee, a third party acting on the employee's behalf, the 4
attorney general, or the prosecuting attorney of any county to seek 5
reinstatement, back pay, damages, attorney fees, and any other 6
equitable relief deemed appropriate by the court. 7
(14) If a direct contractor or subcontractor is found liable in a 8
final judgment in a court of competent jurisdiction for a violation 9
of this section, the department of labor and industries shall deny, 10
suspend, or revoke the contractor's registration under chapter 18.27 11
RCW. 12
(15) This chapter is in addition to and does not otherwise limit 13
authority under federal, state, or local law. 14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) Upon an owner's or direct contractor's 15
request, any subcontractor with whom a direct contractor has entered 16
into a contract to perform a portion of a construction project within 17
the scope of a construction contract between the direct contractor 18
and an owner must provide the following records to the owner or 19
direct contractor:20
(a) Certified payroll reports that, at a minimum, include 21
sufficient information for the direct contractor to determine whether 22
a subcontractor has paid in full all wages earned by employees who 23
performed work on the project as part of the employees' total 24
compensation; 25
(b) The name, address, and phone number of a contact for the 26
subcontractor; 27
(c) The names of all workers who performed work on the 28
construction project and notation of whether each worker is 29
classified as an employee or an independent contractor;30
(d) The names of any subcontractors with whom the first-tier 31
subcontractor contracts; 32
(e) The anticipated contract start date and scheduled duration of 33
work; 34
(f) An affidavit attesting to whether the subcontractor or any of 35
its current principals has, within the preceding five years, been the 36
subject of, or participated in, any civil, administrative, or 37
criminal proceeding, investigation, citation, or settlement, that 38
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involved any allegations of a wage and hour violation under local, 1
state, or federal law; and 2
(g)(i) If a matter under (f) of this subsection (1) has 3
concluded, the outcome, including any judgment, settlement, damages, 4
fees, penalties, or amounts paid to workers or to a government 5
agency; or 6
(ii) If a matter under (f) of this subsection (1) remains 7
pending, a description of the status of the proceedings or 8
investigation. 9
(2) A subcontractor must provide the records described in 10
subsection (1) of this section to a third party on the employee's 11
behalf only to the extent that the information contained in the 12
records pertains specifically to the employee on whose behalf the 13
third party is acting and to whatever extent that the subcontractor 14
would be lawfully required to disclose such records to the employee 15
if the employee was acting on the employee's own behalf.16
(3) A subcontractor's compliance or failure to comply with a 17
request under this section does not relieve the owner or direct 18
contractor of the liability prescribed by section 3 of this act.19
(4) Nothing in this section alters an owner's or direct 20
contractor's obligation to timely pay a subcontractor, except that an 21
owner and direct contractor may: 22
(a) Withhold payment to a subcontractor because of the 23
subcontractor's failure to comply with the request for records under 24
subsection (1) of this section; and 25
(b) Withhold payment to a subcontractor if the direct contractor 26
has paid wages, on behalf of the subcontractor, to the 27
subcontractor's employees. 28
(5) An owner, direct contractor, or subcontractor may not 29
disclose personally identifying information about a worker who 30
performs work on a construction project except as necessary to comply 31
with section 3 of this act, or as permitted by state or federal law.32
(6) As used in this section, "principal" means a person, 33
including an owner or a direct contractor, that commissions a 34
construction project and that is responsible for the project's scope, 35
standards, and objectives. 36
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This chapter does not apply to 37
construction contracts that relate to real property that is used as 38
the owner's principal residence, or to real property consisting of 39
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five or fewer residential or commercial units on a single tract, as 1
defined in RCW 84.04.130. 2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 18.27 3
RCW to read as follows: 4
If a direct contractor or subcontractor is found liable in a 5
final judgment in a court of competent jurisdiction for a violation 6
of section 3 of this act, the department of labor and industries 7
shall deny, suspend, or revoke the contractor's registration.8
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Sections 1 through 5 of this act 9
constitute a new chapter in Title 49 RCW.10
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