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Domestic workers bill advances in committee hearing as workers and employers weigh costs and protections
Summary
Supporters told the House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee that House Bill 23‑55 would extend minimum‑wage, overtime and anti‑discrimination protections plus a required written agreement to domestic workers statewide; labor advocates and workers said the change is long overdue while state staff flagged technical and funding questions for implementation.
House Bill 23‑55, the state domestic workers bill of rights, drew a steady stream of testimony in the House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee as workers, employers and agency staff outlined the policy’s reach and practical hurdles.
Representative Brianna Thomas, the bill’s prime sponsor, said the measure would close a longstanding gap in Washington labor law. “The workers that are here in this room behind me right now, do not have the basic protections that we lay out in so many of our labor standards for other workers,” she said, urging members to support a simplified, enforceable approach.
Staff described the bill as three linked changes: a standalone set of workplace…
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