In 2024, both Oregon and Washington held active legislative sessions aimed at amending existing laws and creating new ones. As a result, employees in both states will see an expansion of their rights, ranging from paid sick leave to Washington’s hourly workers earning the highest minimum wage in the nation. We have prepared a summary of these new and/or amended laws that will take effect in 2025. As a reminder, we have also included a summary of the laws that went into effect mid-year of 2024 for Oregon and Washington.
Recap: Laws That Took Effect Mid-2024
Oregon
Paid Leave Oregon: Effective July 1, 2024, employees can use any of their accrued paid sick leave, vacation leave, or any other PTO offered by their employer at the same time they are/were receiving Paid Leave Oregon benefits. Employers have the discretion to determine whether employees may receive more than their regular wages when using PTO and Paid Leave Oregon benefits at the same time. When employees have more than one type of PTO available, the employer may choose the order that employees use the PTO benefits (for example, an employer may require an employee to use paid vacation time first, followed by paid sick leave, or vice versa). Additionally, as of July 1, 2024, an employee is not permitted to use both Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) and Paid Leave Oregon benefits at the same time.
Amendments to Oregon Family Leave Act: Effective July 1, 2024, qualifying events for OFLA leave now include leave to care for a child who requires home care due to illness, injury, health condition, or school/care provider closure because of a public health emergency. The amendment also provides up to 12 weeks of leave within a one-year period for pregnancy or childbirth-related disability. Alternatively, employees can use the full 12 weeks for any of the other specified leave purposes. Finally, the amendment allows for two weeks of family bereavement leave for a family member’s death, not to exceed four weeks within a one-year period.
Washington
Amendment to Non-Compete Statute, RCW 49.62: On June 6, 2024, amendments took effect that expanded Washington’s non-competition covenant. These changes include:
- Expanding the definition to cover agreements that directly or indirectly prevent a person from conducting business with a current customer.
- Allowing non-parties to a non-compete agreement to take legal action against current or former employers who have imposed agreements that violate the statute.
- Clarifying that non-compete agreements must be litigated in Washington and governed by Washington state law.
- Permitting legal action for non-compete agreements signed before January 1, 2020, if the agreement is “explicitly leveraged.”
- Creating an exception to the non-compete statute during the sale of a business, where the owner sells at least 1% of the business.
Amendment to Provide for Portability of WA Cares Fund, HB 2467: On July 1, 2024, an expansion of WA Cares Fund program went into effect, permitting certain qualifying employees and self-employed people to continue participating in the long-term care program if they relocate outside Washington. Beneficiaries who relocate out-of-state will have access to benefits starting July 1, 2030.
Warehouse Production Quotas, HB 1762: On July 1, 2024, a new law went into effect for all employers with at least 100 non-exempt employees at a single warehouse distribution center or at least 1,000 non-exempt employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers in Washington. The new law provides that covered employers must provide a written description in the employee’s preferred language of all applicable quotas and any associated incentive or bonus programs, including the potential adverse employment actions if the quotas or production standards are not met. When establishing quotas, employers must include time for rest breaks, reasonable travel time to and from rest and meal break locations, time to do work subject to the quota, and time to use the restroom. The anti-discrimination and retaliation provision protects both current and former employees from discrimination or retaliation for exercising any rights under the law. This includes requesting quota information or making a good-faith complaint about the quota. There is a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if an employer takes any adverse action within 90 days of a protected activity.
Amendment to Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act, RCW 49.17: Effective June 6, 2024, workers performing construction activities who menstruate, express milk, or both, must be provided with certain accommodations for health and safety purposes such as an adequate and convenient supply of menstrual hygiene products at no cost to the workers and a location, other than a bathroom, to express milk. The Department of Labor & Industries is expected to adopt rules consistent with the statute.
Amendment to Prohibited Practices, RCW 49.44: Effective June 6, 2024, an employer is prohibited from subjecting or threatening to subject an employee to adverse action because the employee refused to attend or participate in an employer-sponsored meeting whose primary purpose is to communicate the employer’s opinion concerning religious or political matters. An employer is also prohibited from subjecting or threatening to subject an employee to adverse action who refuses to listen to speech or view communications whose primary purpose is to communicate the employer’s opinion concerning religious or political matters or requiring an employee to attend a meeting or participate in such communications. Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who make a good-faith report of a violation of this chapter.
New or Amended Laws Effective January 1, 2025
Oregon
New Protections for Warehouse Workers, House Bill 4127: Oregon followed Washington and enacted its own version of a law that protects warehouse workers who are required to meet quotas. Effective January 1, 2025, warehouse employers with at least 100 employees at a single location, not including drivers or couriers, or 1,000 or more employees at multiple locations throughout Oregon, are required to clearly outline the quotas to their employees and discuss consequences when an employee fails to meet the quotas. Notice of the quota requirements must be given upon hire, following any changes to any quota, and when an employer takes an adverse employment action against an employee based on any failure to meet the quota. The new bill does not ban quotas but requires that increased specificity be provided to employees. The bill does, however, include an exception for certain employers who are subject to a collective bargaining agreement.
Amendment to Wage Garnishment Updates, Senate Bill 1595: Effective January 1, 2025, Oregon’s employers are limited to how much can be garnished from an employee’s paycheck. Wage garnishment per paycheck is either the lesser of 25% of the employee’s disposable income or:
- $305 for wages payable between January 1, 2025 and June 30, 2025;
- $338 for wages payable between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2025;
- $400 for wages payable between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027; or
- the state minimum wage multiplied by 30 for wages payable on or after July 1, 2027.
Agricultural Workers Overtime Threshold Update, House Bill 4002 (from 2022): Effective January 1, 2025, employers of agricultural workers will be required to pay overtime to those agricultural workers for time worked in excess of 48 hours in one work week. This is a change from the prior year’s requirement of 55 hours in one work week and is part of the gradual implementation of House Bill 4002, which was passed in 2022. Another change will occur on January 1, 2027, when employers will be required to pay overtime to agricultural workers for time worked in excess of 40 hours in one work week.
Washington
Minimum Wage and Wage Exemption Amount Increase: The Washington minimum wage increases to $16.66/hour, the highest minimum wage in the nation.[1] The salary threshold to determine if an employee qualifies as an exempt employee for overtime purposes increases to $1,332.80/week or $69,305.60/year for employers with up to 50 employees and $1,499.40/week or $77,968.80/year for employers with 51 or more employees. Employees who earn more than $123,394.17/year or independent contractors who earn more than $308,485.43/year can be held to a non-competition agreement.
Expansion of Paid Sick Leave Definition for Family and Protected Reasons for Leave, SB 5793: Effective January 1, 2025, employees are protected and may take paid sick leave when their child’s school or daycare is closed due to a local, state, or federal government-declared emergency. Caring for a family member has also expanded to be much more inclusive and now includes a child (including the spouse of the employee’s child), grandchild, grandparent, parent, sibling, or spouse of an employee. This includes any individual who regularly resides in the employee’s home or has a relationship with the employee that creates an expectation of care, where the individual depends on the employee for care.
Expansion of the Equal Pay & Opportunity Act (EPOA), HB 1905: On July 1, 2025, equal pay protection will be expanded beyond gender. “Protected class” will include age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, veteran or military status, physical or mental disability, and the use of trained service animals by a disabled person.
Expanding Definition of Healthcare Employees who are Restricted from Mandatory Overtime, HB 2061: Effective January 1, 2025, all staff working at hospitals in direct patient or clinical settings (excluding contract and travel staff), who earn an hourly wage or are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, are protected from mandatory overtime. Hospitals can still require overtime in certain situations, including when overtime results from pre-scheduled on-call time, in the event of unforeseen emergencies (such as a disaster or a declared national, state, or local emergency), when a critical procedure in progress needs to be completed, or when the hospital makes reasonable efforts to staff adequately but is unable to avoid the need for overtime.
Recommended Action
- Make sure you are knowledgeable on new and amended federal, state, and local laws that will affect your business/organization and employees.
- Update the Employee Handbook, particularly, paid sick, family leave, and equal pay sections.
- Ensure you have all required written notices pursuant to Washington’s Labor and Industries and Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industrial Relations (BOLI).
- Provide updated training to management and human resource professionals.
- Consult GRSM’s employment counsel for guidance on these updated laws.
[1] Note that certain municipalities, including, for example, Seattle and Tukwila, have a higher minimum wage for employees working in those jurisdictions.