Senate committee hears bill to tighten penalties, site checks for employers of minors

Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1644, a measure that would revise penalties and enforcement for employment of minors and require workplace consultations before student-learner variances, was read into the record and received extended testimony before the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee on Oct. 12.

Supporters said the bill modernizes child-labor enforcement after recent increases in youth workplace injuries. Representative Mary Fosse, prime sponsor, told the committee that “we really want kids to have these experiences and these opportunities, but we want to make sure that they're safe,” and cited Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) data that youth injuries rose from 750 in 2023 to 869 in 2024.

The bill would standardize penalties for minor-employment violations, ranging from $100 for recordkeeping and minor permit failures to larger civil penalties for serious or repeated violations, and would set an upper penalty of $271,000 for violations resulting in serious physical harm or death of a minor. L&I could waive or reduce civil penalties for first-time nonserious violations if employers take corrective action. For serious or repeated violations an additional civil penalty of up to $5,000 per day could be imposed, and L&I must revoke a minor work permit for 12 months in defined circumstances. The bill would require L&I to conduct a safety-and-health consultation at the worksite prior to issuing a student-learner variance and takes effect July 1, 2026.

Union and contractor-training representatives testified in strong support, arguing the changes increase accountability and better protect minors on potentially hazardous sites. April Sims of the Washington State Labor Council said the proposal “helps to ensure that when a business violates health and safety laws, they are held accountable.” Justin Borgo of Sheet Metal Workers Local 66 said the bill “ensures that contractors with certain health and safety violations on their record aren't overseeing kids in situations that can be incredibly dangerous.”

Business groups and industry associations said the bill's enforcement provisions—particularly the expansion of "responsible bidder" criteria to bar companies with revocations from public works bidding—could discourage employers from participating in CTE and other youth-employment programs. Carolyn Logue of Associated Builders and Contractors and Michelle Wilms of Associated General Contractors said the revocation provision and the timing of required consultations could produce a chilling effect on employer participation in hands-on training programs and suggested permitting provisional permits while L&I completes consultations.

Senators pressed for clarity about how “worksite” and consultative inspections would be defined for agriculture and dispersed farm operations. Tammy Fallon of L&I said the consultation requirement would be tied to the student-learner variance and to the specific tasks and tools the minor would use; L&I reported it issued only about two dozen student-learner variance requests in calendar year 2024 and does “very few” in agriculture.

Committee members also questioned how L&I would distinguish “good actors” (employers following rules but experiencing ordinary injuries) from willful or repeat violators; sponsors said the statutory language ties revocation and enhanced penalties to violations connected to serious bodily injury, death, or willful/repeated noncompliance.

The committee did not take a vote during the hearing. Proponents urged the committee to retain the bill’s enforcement provisions; opponents asked for amendments removing or narrowing the responsible-bidder language and for a provisional-permit mechanism to avoid disrupting CTE placements.

The committee heard dozens of witnesses in person and on Zoom before moving on to other bills later in the morning. L&I staff and both labor and employer witnesses said they expect to continue negotiations.