This bill reenacts and amends RCW 1.16.050 (Senate Bill 6043, S-3790.1, 69th Legislature, 2026 Regular Session). It revises the statutory list of state legal holidays, formally declares a set of additional “recognized” days (not legal holidays) including several religious observances, and adds employee leave entitlements and related procedures. Substantive changes include a new entitlement of one additional paid holiday per calendar year for most state and political subdivision employees (selected after consultation with the employer under applicable guidelines or local ordinance/resolution), and a new entitlement of two unpaid holidays per calendar year for reasons of faith or conscience or for organized religious activity for all state and political subdivision employees (also selected after consultation). Employers must permit the two unpaid days unless the absence would cause an “undue hardship” or the employee is necessary to maintain public safety; the Office of Financial Management is directed to define “undue hardship” by rule under RCW 43.41.109. The bill also specifies weekend observance rules and a rule for handling state versus federal holidays that fall on different observed dates, with limited exceptions for port districts and certain municipal law enforcement and public transit employees. This is a statutory amendment affecting holiday definitions and employee leave procedures rather than criminal or penalty provisions. The text provided does not include an effective date or other sections of the bill beyond the amendments to RCW 1.16.050, so implementation timing and any additional provisions outside that section are not shown.

If enacted, most state and local government employees would gain one extra paid day off each year and all such employees would be able to take two unpaid days a year for reasons of faith or conscience. For employers this likely means higher payroll or scheduling costs to cover the extra paid day and more routine staffing adjustments or overtime to backfill employees taking unpaid religious days, plus administrative work to adopt the required guidelines or local ordinances and to manage requests. School district staff and short-term nonclassified higher education employees are excluded from the extra paid day but are included for the unpaid religious days, and public safety roles can be kept on duty when needed. The bill also gives certain municipal public safety, transit, and port employees a choice between federal or state holiday observance when the dates differ, and it shifts observance to a weekday when holidays fall on weekends, which can change which workdays are impacted. The Office of Financial Management will define what counts as an “undue hardship,” a definition that will shape how often employers can deny unpaid religious leave; the extract does not show an effective date or the detailed rules, so timing and specific employer procedures remain unclear.