Final rules detail how new requirements for employers will be enforced

TUMWATER — Many more workers around Washington will have paid sick leave soon. The state’s new mandatory paid sick leave law takes effect in less than two weeks, on Jan. 1, 2018. Voters approved the change as part of Initiative 1433, which passed in November 2016.

The initiative also included annual increases to the state minimum wage through 2020. In 2017, the minimum wage climbed to $11 an hour; that’ll change to $11.50 when we ring in the 2018 New Year.

Under the new paid sick leave law, employees will earn at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. The law also requires employers to carry over up to 40 hours of an employee’s unused sick leave from one year to the next.

“Paid sick leave is important for all of us. No one wants employees to come into work sick. It’s bad for them, their coworkers, and customers,” said Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) Director Joel Sacks. “The new law allows employees to take care of themselves, or their family members, when they’re sick. It makes our state a better place to work.”

This week, L&I adopted final rules with specifics on how the law will be enforced. The rules explain how L&I will respond to employers who violate the paid sick leave law, fail to pay employees the tips and service charges that they’re owed, or retaliate against an employee. Employees can file a complaint with L&I if they believe their employer is not complying with the new law. Businesses can face fines and have to provide back pay.

Resources to help employers prepare

To help employers get ready, L&I has launched an online Employer Resource Center that covers key topics like how to implement a paid sick leave policy and how to notify employees of their paid sick leave rights.

Businesses can also sign up for a webinar, scheduled through February 2018, to learn more about the new requirements. Some webinars already held were full to capacity because of the high amount of interest in learning more about implementing the new law.

Along with webinars and other in-person outreach, L&I has a paid campaign with TV, online, radio and social media ads to make sure employers know that the new law is coming, and what it entails.

L&I also mailed a new required workplace poster – updated with paid sick leave information – to all employer worksites in Washington. The Your Rights as a Worker poster is available for downloading in eight languages on L&I’s website.

Washington is the seventh state to have a paid sick leave law. Others include California, Oregon, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Arizona, as well as the District of Columbia.

Find more information online at www.Lni.wa.gov/SickLeave.