This bill creates a new chapter in Title 49 RCW called the "immigrant worker protection act" and imposes new procedural requirements on employers when a federal agency inspects Form I-9s and related worker records. The Washington attorney general must develop and publish a poster, a model notice, and guidance (in English and the five most commonly used non-English languages) and employers must post the poster where worker notices are customarily posted. Within five business days of receiving a federal inspection notice, employers must provide written notice to workers (and any exclusive collective bargaining representative) including a copy of the agency’s notice and specified information in multiple languages; within five business days of receiving written inspection results, employers must give affected workers written notice in the language they most regularly use describing identified deficiencies, the correction period, meeting options, the right to representation, and must redact other workers’ personal information. The act creates procedural limits and protections: employers are not required to perform I-9 self-audits, any voluntary self-audit must comply with applicable federal, state, and local antidiscrimination and antiretaliation laws and collective bargaining agreements, and employers may not impose verification or reverification requirements beyond federal law. It is unlawful for an employer to interfere with or retaliate against workers for exercising rights under the chapter, and the act defines a range of "adverse actions" that are prohibited. The attorney general may investigate, seek conciliation, issue civil investigative demands, and sue to enjoin violations and obtain relief; complaint and investigation records with personal information are confidential. The act authorizes private causes of action in superior court; for failures to provide the notices required by sections 5 or 6 the court must order statutory damages of $500 per instance payable to the attorney general (doubled if willful, subject to waiver or reduction in limited circumstances), and private plaintiffs may recover actual damages or statutory damages equal to up to 40 times the hourly state minimum wage per plaintiff per violation, plus fees and costs. Sections 4–10 take effect October 1, 2026; the attorney general must publish materials by September 1, 2026, and conduct outreach through October 1, 2027; the act is null and void if specific funding is not provided by June 30, 2026. The provided text is incomplete in places: one subsection (Sec. 6(3)) cuts off mid-sentence, sections 9 and 10 are referenced but not included, the five non-English languages are not specified, and the process for attorney general approval of the statewide immigrant/refugee rights organization is not described.

If enacted, employers in Washington will have to post an attorney general poster and give fast, written notice to all workers when a federal agency notifies them of an I-9 or related records inspection, and then provide affected workers prompt written notice of any inspection results and required corrections. The attorney general must produce the poster, a model notice, and guidance in English and the state’s five most common non‑English languages by September 1, 2026, and will do statewide outreach through October 1, 2027. Employers are not required to do I-9 self‑audits, and any voluntary audits must follow anti‑discrimination and collective bargaining rules; employers may not demand more verification than federal law requires. Notices must include specific information, be delivered by specified methods (for example hand delivery, mail with proof, email or text with proof), and must redact other workers’ personal information. The groups most affected are employers (who will bear new posting, notification, redaction, and record‑keeping duties and potential compliance costs) and workers identified in inspections (who will receive more information and protections, including the right to representation). The attorney general will take on creation of materials, outreach, and enforcement authority. Employers face statutory penalties for failing to provide required notices ($500 per instance to the attorney general, doubled if willful) and exposure to private lawsuits with damages up to actual damages or a multiple of the state minimum wage per violation; the attorney general may also investigate and sue. These provisions take effect October 1, 2026 for sections 4–10, but the act is void if specific funding is not provided by June 30, 2026. Key details not provided here include which five non‑English languages will be used, how the attorney general will approve the statewide immigrant/refugee organization, and the missing portions of Section 6 and sections 9–10.