Immigration status coercion

AN ACT Relating to protecting employees from coercion in the 1
workplace based on immigration status; amending RCW 49.46.010; adding 2
a new section to chapter 49.46 RCW; and prescribing penalties.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 49.46.010 and 2024 c 132 s 1 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
As used in this chapter: 7
(1) "Director" means the director of labor and industries;8
(2) "Employ" includes to permit to work; 9
(3) "Employee" includes any individual employed by an employer 10
but shall not include: 11
(a) Any individual (i) employed as a hand harvest laborer and 12
paid on a piece rate basis in an operation which has been, and is 13
generally and customarily recognized as having been, paid on a piece 14
rate basis in the region of employment; (ii) who commutes daily from 15
his or her permanent residence to the farm on which he or she is 16
employed; and (iii) who has been employed in agriculture less than 17
thirteen weeks during the preceding calendar year;18
(b) Any individual employed in casual labor in or about a private 19
home, unless performed in the course of the employer's trade, 20
business, or profession; 21
S-0331.1
SENATE BILL 5104
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Hasegawa, Bateman, Conway, Nobles, Saldaña, Stanford,
Valdez, Wellman, and C. Wilson
Prefiled 12/23/24. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee
on Labor & Commerce.
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(c) Any individual employed in a bona fide executive, 1
administrative, or professional capacity or in the capacity of 2
outside salesperson as those terms are defined and delimited by rules 3
of the director. However, those terms shall be defined and delimited 4
by the human resources director pursuant to chapter 41.06 RCW for 5
employees employed under the director of personnel's jurisdiction;6
(d) Any individual engaged in the activities of an educational, 7
charitable, religious, state or local governmental body or agency, or 8
nonprofit organization where the employer-employee relationship does 9
not in fact exist or where the services are rendered to such 10
organizations gratuitously. If the individual receives reimbursement 11
in lieu of compensation for normally incurred out-of-pocket expenses 12
or receives a nominal amount of compensation per unit of voluntary 13
service rendered, an employer-employee relationship is deemed not to 14
exist for the purpose of this section or for purposes of membership 15
or qualification in any state, local government, or publicly 16
supported retirement system other than that provided under chapter 17
41.24 RCW; 18
(e) Any individual employed full time by any state or local 19
governmental body or agency who provides voluntary services but only 20
with regard to the provision of the voluntary services. The voluntary 21
services and any compensation therefor shall not affect or add to 22
qualification, entitlement, or benefit rights under any state, local 23
government, or publicly supported retirement system other than that 24
provided under chapter 41.24 RCW; 25
(f) Any newspaper vendor, carrier, or delivery person selling or 26
distributing newspapers on the street, to offices, to businesses, or 27
from house to house and any freelance news correspondent or 28
"stringer" who, using his or her own equipment, chooses to submit 29
material for publication for free or a fee when such material is 30
published; 31
(g) Any carrier subject to regulation by Part 1 of the Interstate 32
Commerce Act; 33
(h) Any individual engaged in forest protection and fire 34
prevention activities; 35
(i) Any individual employed by any charitable institution charged 36
with child care responsibilities engaged primarily in the development 37
of character or citizenship or promoting health or physical fitness 38
or providing or sponsoring recreational opportunities or facilities 39
for young people or members of the armed forces of the United States;40
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(j) Any individual whose duties require that he or she reside or 1
sleep at the place of his or her employment or who otherwise spends a 2
substantial portion of his or her work time subject to call, and not 3
engaged in the performance of active duties; 4
(k) Any resident, inmate, or patient of a state, county, or 5
municipal correctional, detention, treatment or rehabilitative 6
institution; 7
(l) Any individual who holds a public elective or appointive 8
office of the state, any county, city, town, municipal corporation or 9
quasi municipal corporation, political subdivision, or any 10
instrumentality thereof, or any employee of the state legislature;11
(m) All vessel operating crews of the Washington state ferries 12
operated by the department of transportation; 13
(n) Any individual employed as a seaman on a vessel other than an 14
American vessel; 15
(o) Any farm intern providing his or her services to a small farm 16
which has a special certificate issued under RCW 49.12.471;17
(p) An individual who is at least 16 years old but under twenty-18
one years old, in his or her capacity as a player for a junior ice 19
hockey team that is a member of a regional, national, or 20
international league and that contracts with an arena owned, 21
operated, or managed by a public facilities district created under 22
chapter 36.100 RCW; or 23
(q) Any individual who has entered into a contract to play 24
baseball at the minor league level and who is compensated pursuant to 25
the terms of a collective bargaining agreement that expressly 26
provides for wages and working conditions; 27
(4) "Employer" includes any individual, partnership, association, 28
corporation, business trust, or any person or group of persons acting 29
directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to 30
an employee; 31
(5) "Occupation" means any occupation, service, trade, business, 32
industry, or branch or group of industries or employment or class of 33
employment in which employees are gainfully employed;34
(6) "Retail or service establishment" means an establishment 35
seventy-five percent of whose annual dollar volume of sales of goods 36
or services, or both, is not for resale and is recognized as retail 37
sales or services in the particular industry; 38
(7) "Wage" means compensation due to an employee by reason of 39
employment, payable in legal tender of the United States or checks on 40
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banks convertible into cash on demand at full face value, subject to 1
such deductions, charges, or allowances as may be permitted by rules 2
of the director;3
(8) "Coercion" means a threat to compel or induce a person to 4
engage in conduct which the person has a legal right to abstain from, 5
or to abstain from conduct in which the person has a legal right to 6
engage in;7
(9) "Threat" means any implicit or explicit communication 8
specifically pertaining to an employee's or an employee's family 9
member's immigration status that is made by the employer to deter an 10
employee from engaging in protected activities or exercising a right 11
under state law. 12
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 49.46 13
RCW to read as follows: 14
(1) Any employer that coerces an employee in furtherance of the 15
employer committing a violation of wage payment requirements, as 16
defined in chapter 49.48 RCW, or conditions of labor requirements, as 17
defined in chapter 49.12 RCW, is subject to a fine in addition to any 18
other penalty that may be imposed by the department of labor and 19
industries against an employer for those violations.20
(2) A worker who believes the worker was subject to coercion by 21
the worker's employer based on the worker's immigration status may 22
file a complaint with the department within 180 days of the alleged 23
coercive action. 24
(3) The department must investigate complaints of coercion by 25
employers based on immigration status, and must assess a civil 26
penalty for each coercive act found to be a violation as follows:27
(a) For the first violation, a civil penalty not to exceed 28
$1,000; 29
(b) For the second violation, a civil penalty not to exceed 30
$5,000; and 31
(c) For any subsequent violation, a civil penalty not to exceed 32
$10,000. 33
(4) Each act of coercion against each affected employee 34
constitutes a separate violation of this act. 35
(5) The department shall deposit all civil penalties paid under 36
this section in the supplemental pension fund established under RCW 37
51.44.033. 38
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(6)(a) The penalties payable pursuant to this section shall be 1
adjusted for inflation every three years, beginning July 1, 2028, 2
based upon changes in the consumer price index during that time 3
period. 4
(b) For purposes of this subsection, "consumer price index" 5
means, for any calendar year, that year's average consumer price 6
index for the Seattle, Washington area for urban wage earners and 7
clerical workers, all items, compiled by the bureau of labor 8
statistics, United States department of labor. 9
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