Senate Bill 5578 amends and adds multiple sections to chapter 49.46 RCW. It sets a new statewide minimum wage schedule for employees age 18 and older ($17.50 on Jan 1, 2026; $19.00 on Jan 1, 2027; $20.50 on Jan 1, 2028; $22.00 on Jan 1, 2029; $23.50 on Jan 1, 2030; $25.00 on Jan 1, 2031) and establishes an annual inflation adjustment process beginning with a September 30, 2031 calculation that takes effect the following January 1. The bill reiterates existing paid sick leave obligations (effective Jan 1, 2018), requires employers beginning Jan 1, 2027 to provide paid vacation leave and paid bereavement leave (with details referenced to specific sections), clarifies that tips and service charges must be paid to employees in addition to minimum wage and cannot be counted toward the hourly minimum, and amends or reenacts multiple RCW provisions (including RCW 49.46.010, .020, .180, .200, .210, .300 and adds new sections). The bill creates new, detailed rules for transportation network companies (TNCs) and drivers. It requires earned paid sick time and earned paid vacation time for drivers on TNC platforms (accrual generally one hour per 40 hours of passenger platform time, use eligibility after 90 hours, payment at the driver's average hourly compensation which excludes tips, carryover caps of 40 hours, limits on daily use, expiration after 365 days of inactivity, and payment no later than 14 days or the next pay date). It also sets minimum driver compensation standards effective Dec 31, 2022: for trips originating in cities over 600,000 population the greater of $0.59 per passenger-platform minute and $1.38 per passenger-platform mile or $5.17 per trip; for all other trips the greater of $0.34 per minute and $1.17 per mile or $3.00 per trip. TNCs must remit all tips to drivers, provide detailed trip receipts to drivers and passengers, limit deductions from driver compensation (generally only with prior written authorization), collect a per-trip $0.15 fee for a driver resource center beginning July 1, 2024 (with CPI adjustments each Sept 30 thereafter), and permit voluntary per-trip deductions if 100 drivers authorize them. The bill adds enforcement and procedural changes: the Department of Labor and Industries may issue stop work orders to cease operations at sites where violations occur, require payment of wages to workers for scheduled hours during a stop work period, condition release on payment of owed amounts and possible probationary reporting up to two years, and assess civil penalties up to $5,000 per day for operating in violation of a stop work order (with CPI-based adjustments beginning Sept 30, 2028). Employers and TNCs may contest stop work orders by filing a petition for judicial review within 72 hours; stays are governed by RCW 34.05.550. The bill also requires TNCs to negotiate and submit to a department-reviewed appeals process with a driver resource center for eligible account deactivations, including mediation and binding arbitration procedures, and gives the department rulemaking authority. The act takes effect Jan 1, 2026. Some provisions are referenced but not fully provided in the extracted text: the full paid bereavement leave language was cut off, the detailed accrual and use rules for employer-paid vacation referenced in section 7 are not included, certain amendments to RCW 49.46.180 and other reenacted or added sections are not fully visible, and several definitions and cross-referenced subsections are incomplete in the provided excerpts.

If enacted, the bill raises Washington’s baseline labor costs by setting a statewide minimum wage schedule for adults that climbs from $17.50 on January 1, 2026 to $25.00 on January 1, 2031 and then moves to annual CPI adjustments beginning in 2032, and it requires employers to pay tips and service charges on top of that wage. Employers will also face new leave obligations: paid sick leave rules already in effect are restated, and beginning January 1, 2027 most employers must provide paid vacation and paid bereavement leave (with some construction and collective bargaining exceptions noted). The Department of Labor and Industries gains new duties to calculate CPI adjustments and to enforce the law with stop-work orders that can close worksites until owed wages, interest, and penalties are paid; employers must pay workers for scheduled hours during a stop-work period and face civil penalties up to $5,000 per day for violations. The bill also imposes specific rules on transportation network companies and drivers: TNCs must meet per-minute, per-mile, or per-trip minimum compensation floors (with higher rates for trips involving large cities), remit all tips to drivers, provide detailed electronic trip receipts and regular pay notices, and begin remitting a $0.15 per-trip fee to a driver resource center fund (starting July 1, 2024). Drivers accrue earned sick and vacation time based on passenger platform time, can use leave after a 90-hour threshold, are paid using an average hourly compensation that excludes tips, and get protections and an appeals process for account deactivations that the department must review and approve. Some important implementation details are missing from the extracted text (the full bereavement leave rules, the complete vacation accrual language in section 7, and several cross-referenced amendments), so precise employer obligations and operational impacts in a few areas remain unclear.