Bill would let language-access interpreters bargain missed-appointment pay
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Summary
SB 59-44 would allow independent-contracting language interpreters who work for state agencies to bargain over economic compensation — including missed/cancelled-appointment payments — aligning bargaining rights across agencies and addressing a statutory discrepancy for L&I interpreters.
The Labor and Workplace Standards Committee heard Senate Bill 59-44 on Feb. 18, a collective-bargaining bill that would allow language-access providers — interpreters contracted by state agencies — to bargain over economic compensation and certain benefits. Staff said the bill is identical to the House companion and limits bargaining scope to economic matters.
Katie Durkin (Washington Federation of State Employees) told the committee that interpreters who contract with different agencies should be able to bargain the same economic terms. She said a statutory discrepancy had prevented L&I interpreters from bargaining missed-appointment compensation and that the result disincentivized interpreters from accepting assignments where travel or no-shows create uncompensated costs. "This left us with a contract where only our L&I interpreters were not able to discuss this issue," Durkin said, describing long drives and lost pay when clients do not show.
Durkin asked lawmakers to extend the same collective-bargaining protections already available to interpreters at other agencies, arguing that doing so would improve access to interpretation services for injured workers and other clients. The committee closed the hearing with the bill on the record; no opposition testimony was recorded in the transcript.