H-1550.1
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1879
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session
By House Labor & Workplace Standards (originally sponsored by Representatives Thomas, Berry, Doglio, Parshley, Simmons, Cortes, Santos, Fitzgibbon, Ormsby, Scott, Ramel, Hill, Fosse, and Pollet)
READ FIRST TIME 02/20/25.
AN ACT Relating to meal and rest breaks for hospital workers; amending RCW 49.12.480 ; creating a new section; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that rest breaks and meal breaks are important for health care workers to provide a safe workplace and safe patient care. The department of labor and industries' rules governing rest breaks and meal breaks were promulgated at a time when work shifts of 10 hours or more were unusual, but these work shifts are now routine in Washington's hospitals and commonly requested by health care workers.
(2) The legislature therefore intends to clarify certain aspects of scheduling and taking rest breaks and meal breaks for covered health care workers while fully protecting health care employees' rights to receive all rest breaks and meal breaks to which they are entitled.