Working minors

AN ACT Relating to the safety and health of working minors; 1
amending RCW 49.12.390; adding a new section to chapter 49.12 RCW; 2
and prescribing penalties. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 49.12.390 and 1991 c 303 s 3 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
(1)(a) Except as otherwise provided in (e) of this subsection 7
(((2) of this section)), if the director, or the director's designee, 8
finds that an employer has violated any of the requirements of RCW 9
49.12.121 or 49.12.123, or a rule or order adopted or variance 10
granted under RCW 49.12.121 or 49.12.123, a citation stating the 11
violations shall be issued to the employer. The citation shall be in 12
writing, describing the nature of the violation including reference 13
to the standards, rules, or orders alleged to have been violated. 14
((An initial )) A first citation for failure to comply with RCW 15
49.12.123 or rules requiring a minor work permit and maintenance of 16
records, or for other nonserious violations shall state a specific 17
and reasonable time for abatement of the violation to allow the 18
employer to correct the violation without a civil penalty. ((The 19
director or the director's designee may establish a specific time for 20
abatement of other nonserious violations in lieu of a penalty for 21
S-1390.1
SENATE BILL 5756
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Stanford, Saldaña, Conway, Dhingra, Valdez, and C. Wilson
Read first time 02/14/25. Referred to Committee on Labor & Commerce.
p. 1 SB 5756
first time violations. )) The citation and a ((proposed)) penalty 1
assessment shall be given to the highest management official 2
available at the workplace or be mailed to the employer at the 3
workplace. In addition, the department shall mail a copy of the 4
citation and ((proposed)) penalty assessment to the central personnel 5
office of the employer. Citations issued under this section shall be 6
posted at or near the place where the violation occurred.7
(b) Except when an employer corrects a violation as provided in 8
(a) of this subsection, ((he or she )) the employer shall be assessed 9
a civil penalty ((of not more than one thousand dollars depending on 10
the size of the business and the gravity of the violation )) as 11
follows:12
(i) No less than $100 for each violation involving the failure to 13
comply with RCW 49.12.123 or rules requiring a minor work permit, 14
maintenance record requirements, or failure to complete school 15
authorization procedures, or for each other nonserious violation;16
(ii) No less than $150 for each violation involving failure to 17
comply with hours of work requirements;18
(iii) No less than $300 for each violation involving failure to 19
comply with meal break or rest break requirements;20
(iv) No less than $1,000 for each violation involving failure to 21
comply with prohibited duty requirements, variance conditions, or 22
minimum wage requirements for minors, or for each other serious 23
violation, except the civil penalty may be no less than $2,000 for 24
each violation in a second or subsequent citation for any of these 25
violations identified in this subsection (1)(b)(iv); and26
(v) No less than $71,000 for any violation resulting in the 27
serious physical harm or death of a minor, which may be doubled where 28
the violation is a willful violation or a repeated violation.29
(c) The department shall increase penalty assessments above the 30
minimum amounts prescribed in this subsection based on a 31
consideration of the following factors: Whether the violation was 32
committed willfully or the violation is a repeat violation; the size 33
of the employer; the age of the minor; the gravity of the violation; 34
the hazards created by the violation; the penalties for comparable 35
violations under federal law; the penalty amount necessary to deter 36
future noncompliance; ensuring the penalty amount is consistent with 37
the purposes of this chapter; and any other factor warranting an 38
increase in the penalty as deemed appropriate by the department.39
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(d) The employer shall pay the amount assessed within ((thirty)) 1
30 days of receipt of the assessment or notify the director of ((his 2
or her )) the employer's intent to appeal the citation or the 3
assessment penalty as provided in RCW 49.12.400. 4
(((2))) (e) If the director, or the director's designee, finds 5
that an employer has committed a serious or repeated violation of the 6
requirements of RCW 49.12.121 or 49.12.123, or any rule or order 7
adopted or variance granted under RCW 49.12.121 or 49.12.123, the 8
employer is subject to ((a)) an additional civil penalty of ((not 9
more than one thousand dollars )) a minimum of $1,000 for each 10
subsequent day the violation continues. For the purposes of this 11
subsection (1)(e), a serious violation shall be deemed to exist if 12
death or serious physical harm has resulted or is imminent from a 13
condition that exists, or from one or more practices, means, methods, 14
operations, or processes that have been adopted or are in use by the 15
employer, unless the employer did not, and could not with the 16
exercise of reasonable diligence, know of the presence of the 17
violation. 18
(f) Beginning July 1, 2027, and every two years thereafter, the 19
department shall adjust by rule the amounts in this subsection (1) 20
for inflation based on the consumer price index.21
(((3))) (2)(a) In addition to any other authority provided in 22
this section, if, upon inspection or investigation, the director, or 23
director's designee, believes that an employer has violated RCW 24
49.12.121 or 49.12.123, or a rule or order adopted or variance 25
granted under RCW 49.12.121 or 49.12.123, and that the violation 26
creates a danger from which there is a substantial probability that 27
death or serious physical harm could result to a minor employee, the 28
director, or director's designee, may issue an order immediately 29
restraining the condition, practice, method, process, or means 30
creating the danger in the workplace. 31
(b) An order issued under this subsection may require the 32
employer to take steps necessary to avoid, correct, or remove the 33
danger and ((to)) may prohibit the ((employment or )) presence of a 34
minor in locations or under conditions where the danger exists.35
(3)(a) The director or the director's designee shall revoke an 36
employer's minor work permit and prohibit the employer from obtaining 37
a minor work permit for no less than 12 months if:38
(i) The employer has been issued any combination of three or more 39
of the following within any 24-month time period:40
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(A) A safety and health citation under RCW 49.17.120 containing 1
one or more violations under RCW 49.17.180 (1), (2), (4), or (5); or2
(B) Any citation and notice of assessment containing one or more 3
violations of RCW 49.12.121 or 49.12.123 or the applicable rules;4
(ii) The employer has been issued a safety and health citation 5
under RCW 49.17.120 containing one or more violations under RCW 6
49.17.180 (1), (2), (4), or (5) or any citation and notice of 7
assessment containing one or more violations of RCW 49.12.121 or 8
49.12.123 or the applicable rules, and one or more of the violations 9
caused serious physical harm or death to a minor; or10
(iii) An order has been issued immediately restraining an 11
employer's condition, practice, method, process, or means in the 12
workplace pursuant to subsection (2) of this section or RCW 49.17.130 13
or 49.17.170.14
(b) A minor work permit may not be issued to an employer who has 15
previously been subject to a revocation under (a) of this subsection 16
(3) unless the employer has not been issued a citation for any 17
violations of the provisions identified in (a)(i) of this subsection 18
(3) for at least 12 months.19
(c) This subsection does not prohibit the department from 20
revoking, suspending, or modifying a minor work permit for any reason 21
or cause provided for under state law or department rule or policy.22
(4) ((An employer who violates any of the posting requirements of 23
RCW 49.12.121 or rules adopted implementing RCW 49.12.121 shall be 24
assessed a civil penalty of not more than one hundred dollars for 25
each violation.26
(5))) A person who gives advance notice, without the authority of 27
the director, of an inspection to be conducted under this chapter 28
shall be assessed a civil penalty of not more than one thousand 29
dollars. 30
(((6))) (5) Penalties assessed under this section shall be paid 31
to the director and deposited into the general fund.32
(6) The department shall include in its annual report submitted 33
under RCW 49.12.180 the following information:34
(a) The number and type of citations and penalties issued and 35
imposed under this section;36
(b) The number of and reasons for revocations of minor work 37
permits; and38
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(c) The number and nature of workplace injuries involving minors 1
reviewed by the department, including whether those injuries resulted 2
in citations or permit revocations under this section.3
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 49.12 4
RCW to read as follows: 5
Before granting a variance from RCW 49.12.121 in order to allow a 6
minor participating in a bona fide cooperative vocational education 7
program, diversified career experience program, work experience 8
program certified and monitored by the office of the superintendent 9
of public instruction or the minor employee's school district, or a 10
registered apprenticeship program to perform a work duty typically 11
prohibited based on the minor's age, the department shall:12
(1) Conduct a safety and health consultation at the worksite; and13
(2) Consult with the employer on the types of tools, equipment, 14
and practices permitted under the variance. 15
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