This bill amends existing Washington employment records law (RCW 49.12.240 and 49.12.250) and adds a new section to chapter 49.12 RCW. It requires employers to let employees inspect their personnel files at least once a year upon request, to provide a copy of the file within 21 calendar days at no cost, and to allow employees annually to request review of regularly maintained file information for irrelevant or erroneous material. Employers must remove identified irrelevant or erroneous information or allow the employee to place a written rebuttal or correction in the file; former employees have the rebuttal/correction right for up to two years after separation. The bill also requires an employer to provide, within 21 calendar days of a written request from a former employee or their designee, a signed statement giving the effective date of discharge and whether the employer had reasons for the discharge and what they were. The bill defines "personnel file" to include job application records, performance evaluations, nonactive or closed disciplinary records, leave and reasonable accommodation records, payroll records, employment agreements, and other employer-designated records that the employer creates. It creates a private right of action in superior court for violations, authorizing equitable relief, statutory damages, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, but requires a notice of intent to sue to the employer before filing suit; no suit for failure to provide the complete file may be started until five calendar days after that notice. Statutory damages are tiered by delay: $250 if the file or required discharge statement is not provided within 21 days, $500 if not provided within 28 days, $1,000 if provided later than 35 days, and $500 for other violations. Affected parties named in the bill include Washington employers subject to chapter 49.12, current and former employees, employee designees, and superior courts as the enforcement forum. The extracted text references RCW 49.12.260 but does not provide its content; "designee" is used but not defined here; details about what constitutes "equitable relief" are not specified; and the excerpt does not include the full original statutory text for comparison.

If enacted, workers and recent former workers would gain firmer access to personnel records: employees can inspect their files at least once a year and must be given a free copy within 21 calendar days of asking, and former employees (within three years of separation) can get a signed written statement about their discharge within 21 days. Workers can annually ask the employer to remove irrelevant or erroneous material or add a rebuttal, and former employees keep the right to add rebuttals for up to two years. The rules increase employers’ routine responsibilities and potential costs and legal risk: failing to meet the timing rules can trigger statutory damages ranging from $250 up to $1,000 depending on how late a file is provided, $500 for other violations, plus possible attorneys’ fees and equitable relief, and lawsuits require a prior notice of intent to sue (with a five-day wait before suing over incomplete files). The text leaves some implementation details unclear, including the content of RCW 49.12.260, the precise definition of a “designee,” and what counts as “equitable relief.”