The Washington State House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee (WA House LAWS) considers issues relating to industrial insurance; unemployment compensation; collective bargaining; family leave; safety and health standards; occupational health; and employment standards such as wage laws and employment discrimination. The committee also considers issues relating to the building and construction trades.
Washington State House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee
(WA House LAWS)
Public
Structural Relationships
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Washington State House of Representatives
(WA House) -
Washington State House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee
(WA House LAWS)
Legislative Sessions
Observations
WA House - Session
(March 11, 2025) - HB 1141 - Second and Third Reading
A divide over legislation to extend collective bargaining rights to cannabis production employees stoked partisan tensions related to whether the policy would be expanded to farm workers more generally.
WA Legislature - Update
(March 12, 2025)
Representatives passed the production unionization bill on Tuesday night whereas four cannabis-related bills were well positioned in the Senate on Wednesday but at risk from the House of Origin Cutoff at 5pm.
WA Legislature - Update
(January 27, 2025)
Among 15 cannabis-related bills introduced, limited direct sales legislation was up for an initial public hearing in the Senate on Monday, the first cannabis bill to be considered in that chamber in 2025.
WA Legislature - Update
(January 23, 2025)
Legislators advanced production unions in the House but deferred a production authority transfer before the schedule for the following week and details on four new cannabis-related bills were published.
WA Legislature - Update
(January 22, 2025)
Action on the data dashboard bill was deferred, cannabis came up in the impaired driving hearing, the production union bill may be amended, and a transfer of producer authority to WSDA seemed costly.
The Week Ahead
(January 20, 2024)
Three of eight cannabis-related bills were scheduled for activity in the second week of session, while WSLCB considered liberalizing acceptable forms of identification for the alcohol sector.
WA Legislature - Update
(January 16, 2025)
The hearing on production unions revealed complicated power dynamics around the legislation and four new cannabis-related bills were ready for introduction including out of state ownership and ESOPs.
WA House LAWS - Committee Meeting
(January 15, 2025) - HB 1141 - Public Hearing
A bill to permit collective bargaining by cannabis agricultural workers was supported by claims it may help worker conditions, but opposed by those who felt the cannabis sector was singled out.
WA Legislature - Update
(January 15, 2025)
Legislators heard their first cannabis-related legislation on Tuesday and planned to consider a bill on Wednesday which would empower employee collective bargaining at cannabis producers.
WA Legislature - Update
(January 14, 2025)
The regular session got underway with the introduction of legislation and a briefing on the budget; Tuesday would include the first public hearing of a bill in the new cannabis policy committee in the House.