This bill creates a new chapter in Title 49 RCW called the "child care workforce standards board act" and establishes the Washington state child care workforce standards board. The board must adopt rules setting minimum child care employment standards to protect health and safety, ensure training and notice of rights, and otherwise advance the act's purposes; standards may address compensation and other working conditions and may be statewide or targeted by occupation or region. The board cannot adopt standards about child care facility licensing. The board must set initial wage rules by August 1, 2026, and initial employment standards become effective January 1, 2027, except where standards would raise costs for services covered by RCW 41.56.028 (those standards do not take effect until the legislature appropriates sufficient funding). If a recommended health and safety standard falls under chapter 49.17 RCW, the board must refer it to the Director of the Department of Labor and Industries for rulemaking unless the director provides a written explanation rejecting it for specified reasons. The act creates procedural and enforcement rules: the director may investigate suspected violations; employers may not pay workers less than the board’s minimum standards (subject to limited exceptions in section 4(4)(b) and (c) which are not provided); the board must hold public hearings, review standards at least every four years, and certify worker organizations to provide required training. Employers must ensure each child care worker completes one hour of board-required training every two years, compensate workers for training time (including benefits), reimburse travel for offsite training, post notices of rights (in the most common worker languages upon request), and may not retaliate against workers exercising their rights. An adverse action taken within 90 days of protected activity gives rise to a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation; remedies for retaliation include reinstatement and back pay. A child care worker may sue in court for violations to seek injunctions, reinstatement, actual damages, and costs/attorney fees; filing suit terminates the director’s administrative processing of the same complaint. The bill imposes interagency requirements and deadlines: the governor must appoint board members by September 1, 2025; the director must convene the board’s first meeting by October 1, 2025 and the board must elect a chair then; the department and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families must enter a formal data‑sharing agreement by October 1, 2025. Board actions require six affirmative votes; the Department of Labor and Industries provides staffing and may adopt rules to implement or enforce the chapter. Important context is missing from the extracted text: the full text of section 4(4)(b) and (c) (which are exceptions to the wage prohibition), the complete text of section 7 and section 8, the formal statutory chapter number in Title 49, specific certification criteria and the exact notice text the board must provide, and any additional enforcement, funding, or other provisions that may appear elsewhere in the bill.

If enacted, the bill creates a state board that will set minimum pay and workplace rules for child care workers, require one hour of board-approved training every two years, and force employers to pay workers for training time and reimburse travel. Employers will need to post multilingual notices, follow new anti-retaliation protections, and may face investigations by the Department of Labor and Industries or civil lawsuits if they violate the standards; workers could get back pay, reinstatement, and damages for retaliation. The board’s initial wage rules must be adopted by August 1, 2026 and generally take effect January 1, 2027, but any standards that raise costs for services covered by RCW 41.56.028 won’t start until the Legislature provides funding. The groups most affected are child care employers, who will likely see higher labor and compliance costs, added administrative duties (training scheduling, notice posting, language translations, and recordkeeping), and increased legal risk; child care workers, who will likely gain stronger pay protections, training, and clearer enforcement routes; and state agencies (Labor and Industries and Children, Youth, and Families), which must staff and support the board, coordinate a required data-sharing agreement by October 1, 2025, and may need to adopt implementing rules. Important details are missing from the extracted text—specific wage levels, the exceptions referenced in section 4(4)(b) and (c), and the complete text of the retaliation and enforcement sections—so the exact cost and coverage impacts cannot be fully determined.