This bill amends existing law in RCW 49.17.120 to change inspection and citation procedures for workplace safety enforcement. It requires that when the director or the director's authorized representative believes an employer violated RCW 49.17.060, a director-adopted safety or health standard, or a variance order, the director must promptly issue a written citation that describes the violation in detail, cites the specific statute/standard/rule/order, and sets a reasonable abatement time. The director may adopt procedures to issue a notice in lieu of citation for de minimis violations. Citations and notices must be prominently posted where the violation occurred, and the director must provide rules allowing an employee representative to receive copies of citations and notices upon written application. The amendment adds timing and defense rules. No citation may be issued more than six months after the compliance inspection, investigation, or survey that revealed the violation. An employer can avoid citation for violations caused by unpreventable employee misconduct only by showing a thorough safety program (work rules, training, equipment), adequate communication of rules, steps to discover and correct violations, and effective enforcement in practice. For worksites classified under NAICS 236 (construction of buildings), the department must make a good faith effort to notify the employer or owner within 10 working days when an on-site inspection immediately identifies a hazard that could cause worker injury; that 10-working-day notice does not alter any other rights or authorities in the chapter. This is a procedural change to existing enforcement law rather than the creation of a new crime or a change in criminal penalties; no penalties are added or modified in the provided text. Affected parties include the director and the department, employers and owners of NAICS 236 worksites, employees and their representatives. The bill passed the House (Feb. 12, 2026) and Senate (Feb. 28, 2026). The extracted text does not identify which agency or official “the director” or “the department” refers to, does not state an effective date, and shows deletions of a previously time-limited notice and a reporting requirement without providing the surrounding context.

If enacted, building construction employers (NAICS 236) will more often get a quick formal notice when an inspection finds a hazard that could cause injury, giving them earlier opportunity to fix problems. Minor, non‑safety issues are more likely to be handled as a notice instead of a citation, and employers cannot be cited for violations discovered more than six months after an inspection. Citations that are issued must be specific, include a deadline to fix the problem, and must be posted where the violation occurred, while employee representatives can apply to receive copies under rules the director will set. The groups most affected are owners and employers at building construction sites, who will face stronger incentives to run and document effective safety programs if they want to avoid citations for employee misconduct and to show they’ve communicated and enforced rules; that may increase recordkeeping and training responsibilities but could reduce penalties for trivial issues. The department or director will have new notice and rulemaking duties, which could require additional administrative effort; however, the extracted text does not identify which agency holds the director role or give an effective date or other implementation details.