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State senator to reintroduce wage-replacement bill for undocumented workers
Summary
Sen. Rebecca Saldanha said she will reintroduce legislation to allow undocumented workers access to unemployment benefits their labor has funded, noting that "over 400,000,000" has been paid into Washington's unemployment system over the past decade (figure as stated at the event).
State Sen. Rebecca Saldanha (37th Legislative District) told attendees at a Feb. 14 gathering at El Centro de la Raza that she will reintroduce a wage-replacement bill intended to allow undocumented workers who have paid into Washington’s unemployment system to access benefits when they lose jobs through no fault of their own.
Saldanha framed the proposal as a matter of fairness and dignity, saying undocumented workers and their employers "have been paying into Washington's unemployment system — over 400,000,000 in the past decade," a figure given in the event remarks (the transcript does not record currency formatting or source for that number). She said the legislation addresses what she described as an inequity that left many workers without access to benefits during periods of need.
Saldanha said the bill will have a companion in the state House, sponsored by Rep. Julio Cortez, and called for legislators to identify gaps between state and federal supports for immigrant communities.
Why it matters: Saldanha and other speakers argued that undocumented workers performed essential work during the COVID-19 pandemic and have contributed to the state’s safety-net funding but often remain excluded from the benefits funded by that labor. The proposal would change eligibility rules to allow certain workers without documentation to draw unemployment benefits; the event did not include bill text, a fiscal note, or an enactment timeline.
What’s next: Saldanha said she will introduce the bill in the current legislative session; no bill number, committee referral, fiscal estimate, or vote timeline was provided at the event.
