This bill amends RCW 49.60.515 and adds a new investigatory and enforcement section to chapter 49.60 RCW, creating new employer obligations and enforcement authority related to protections for "isolated employees." It takes effect July 1, 2026. The bill requires employers of isolated employees (defined to include janitors, security guards, hotel or motel housekeepers, and room service attendants who spend a majority of work hours alone) to adopt a sexual harassment policy; provide mandatory training to managers, supervisors, and isolated employees on preventing sexual harassment and assault, preventing sexual discrimination, protections for reporters, and panic-button use and managers’ response duties; provide a list of resources including contact information for the EEOC, the Washington State Human Rights Commission, and local advocacy groups; issue a panic button to each isolated employee (with an explicit exemption for contracted security guard companies licensed under chapter 18.170 RCW); document training completion and panic-button purchases/use and provide those records to the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) upon request. The Department must publish guidance for employers with 50 or fewer employees about the panic-button requirement. Property services contractors must annually report to L&I (on a department form) the date the sexual harassment policy was adopted, the number of managers/supervisors/isolated employees trained, and for each janitorial service location the number of isolated employees and total hours worked; L&I must make aggregate data available upon request. The bill defines key terms including "department," "isolated employee," "employer," "property services contractor" (excluding the Employment Security Department and certain labor exchanges), "panic button," "security guard," "repeat willful violator," and "willful." The bill gives L&I authority to investigate suspected failures to comply with RCW 49.60.515 and, if a violation is found, to issue a citation assessing civil penalties or a closure letter if allegations are not substantiated. Notices must be sent by service of process or trackable/confirmable delivery. Civil penalties are $1,000 for each willful violation and at least $2,000 up to $10,000 for each repeat willful violation; collected penalties are deposited in the supplemental pension fund under RCW 51.44.033, and unpaid penalties are collected under RCW 49.48.086. The director may waive or reduce penalties for corrective action, and L&I may adopt rules to implement and enforce these provisions. The bill references "section 2 of this act" and other parts of chapter 49.60 RCW; how this new investigatory/enforcement section interacts with existing statutory provisions beyond what is stated here is not clear from the extracted text.

If enacted, hotels, motels, retail businesses, security guard employers, and companies that contract out janitorial services will need to adopt sexual harassment policies, run mandatory training for managers and the isolated workers they employ (janitors, housekeepers, room service attendants, and certain security guards), give those workers panic-button devices (with licensed contracted security guard companies exempt), and keep documentation of training and panic-button purchases and use available to the Department of Labor and Industries. Expect one-time and ongoing costs for training, buying and tracking panic buttons, and preparing annual reports (property services contractors must also report locations, numbers of isolated employees, and hours worked); the Department will publish guidance for employers with 50 or fewer employees and can investigate complaints, issue citations, and assess civil penalties that can be reduced if corrective action is taken. The measure increases compliance and oversight risk for affected employers beginning July 1, 2026, including the possibility of $1,000 penalties for willful violations and higher penalties for repeat violators, with collected fines directed to a state pension fund. It likely shifts more administrative work and modest equipment expense onto employers and gives isolated employees clearer emergency and reporting protections; however, how the new enforcement provisions interact with existing state law and the exact reporting form and process the Department will require are not specified in the extracted text.