This bill amends RCW 49.46.130 and adds a new section to allow agricultural employers to designate any 26 weeks in a calendar year as "special circumstance" weeks during which they may employ agricultural workers for up to 50 hours before overtime pay is required. It also declares an emergency and takes effect immediately. The bill modifies the overtime schedule in RCW 49.46.130 with step‑down workweek limits (55 hours beginning Jan 1, 2022; 48 hours beginning Jan 1, 2023; and 40 hours beginning Jan 1, 2024, subject to an exception referenced as subsection (d)). It imposes procedural requirements: employers must keep records of which weeks are used as special circumstance weeks, provide an annual initial good‑faith estimate of the selected 26 weeks at least 30 days before the first expected special week (or on hiring if later), give annual written notice of the actual special weeks at least seven days before the first special week (or on hiring), and may change designated weeks with at least one week's written notice if the initial estimate was reasonable and changes were unforeseeable. For workers employed under federal temporary work visas, the estimate must be disclosed by the date of the visa application. The bill also changes remedies and retroactivity: it bars damages, statutory or civil penalties, attorneys' fees and costs, or other relief against employers for unpaid overtime claims that stem from the historical exclusion of agricultural workers from overtime as that exclusion existed on November 4, 2020. That limitation applies to all claims, causes of action, and proceedings commenced on or after November 5, 2020 (i.e., it is applied retroactively to claims filed on or after that date), but it does not affect dairy employees who are members of the plaintiff class in Martinez‑Cuevas v. DeRuyter Bros. Dairy. The statute includes definitions for "agricultural employee" (listing farm cultivation, livestock care, packing, processing, and related activities) and defines "dairy employee" by NAICS code 112120. Important details are missing from the provided text: subsection (6)(d)(i) is cut off, the full content of the new section is not included, and the precise procedures or criteria for selecting the 26 weeks and any other conditions implementing the 50‑hour threshold are not fully shown.

If enacted, the bill lets farm employers pick any 26 weeks each year when they can schedule workers up to 50 hours in a workweek before paying overtime. Employers will need to give workers advance written estimates and yearly notices about which weeks are designated, keep records of the chosen weeks, and give earlier notice for temporary visa workers; the law takes effect right away. Dairy workers are treated separately by the bill, and members of the Martinez-Cuevas case who are entitled to relief are not affected by the law’s limitation on remedies. Practically, agricultural employers are likely to see lower overtime costs during those 26 weeks and reduced exposure to some past unpaid-overtime claims because the bill limits damages and fees for claims filed on or after November 5, 2020, though that limit does not apply to the specified dairy class. Agricultural workers may see more hours without overtime pay during designated weeks but will get required notices; visa workers get disclosures at visa application time. The measure increases employers’ administrative duties for disclosure and recordkeeping. Important details about how weeks are selected, any other conditions, and full statutory language are missing from the extracted text, so some implementation and enforcement questions remain.