Washington Updates

Seattle’s four ordinances (collectively known as the Hotel Employee Protections Ordinances) adopted in 2019 impose various requirements upon hotel employers and provide certain protections for employees. The ordinances go into effect on July 1, 2020, for most covered businesses. The four ordinances are:

• The Hotel Employees Safety Protections Ordinance – requires hotel employers to take certain steps to protect employees from violent or harassing conduct by guests;
• The Protecting Hotel Employees from Injury Ordinance – imposes certain restrictions upon employers to reduce the frequency and occurrence of employee injuries associated with room cleaning;
• The Improving Access to Medical Care for Hotel Employees Ordinance – requires employers to provide increased access to medical care; and
• The Hotel Employees Job Retention Ordinance – requires certain actions to reduce job insecurity.

To learn more, click here.

No Certification Required for Lactation Accommodation

A Washington employer with 15 or more employees must provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy and related conditions, including lactation. The law allows employers to require certification to support the need for accommodation, with exceptions. A certification for lactation is now an exception – an employer may no longer require certification for a lactation accommodation (e.g., reasonable break time to express milk).