{"id":8062,"date":"2025-05-20T10:27:25","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T17:27:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/nobles\/?p=8062"},"modified":"2025-05-20T10:27:25","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T17:27:25","slug":"nobles-bill-to-expand-pregnancy-related-workplace-accommodations-signed-into-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/nobles\/2025\/05\/20\/nobles-bill-to-expand-pregnancy-related-workplace-accommodations-signed-into-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Nobles bill to expand pregnancy-related workplace accommodations signed into law"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">OLYMPIA \u2014 A bill to expand workplace protections for pregnant and postpartum workers was signed into law <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">Tuesday<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/billsummary?BillNumber=5217&amp;Year=2025&amp;Initiative=False\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Senate Bill 5217<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">, sponsored by Sen. T\u2019wina Nobles (D-Fircrest), expands pregnancy and postpartum workplace accommodations to all employers, regardless of size. It guarantees paid lactation breaks \u2014 including travel time if no suitable space is available \u2014 and prohibits employers from requiring workers to use meal or rest breaks for pumping. The bill also expands eligibility for jury duty excusal or deferral to include anyone breastfeeding or expressing milk for a child under 24 months.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Currently, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/rcw\/default.aspx?cite=43.10.005\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">state law<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> only mandates pregnancy-related accommodations for businesses with 15 or more employees and does not require compensation for lactation breaks.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">To strengthen enforcement, the new law transfers oversight from the Attorney General\u2019s Office to the Department of Labor and Industries (L&amp;I), which will adopt rules to implement the law and work in good faith with businesses to resolve complaints before issuing penalties. It also creates a private right of action and establishes civil penalties for noncompliance.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cThis law is about dignity, fairness, and creating workplaces that meet people where they are,\u201d Nobles said. \u201cNo one should have to choose between keeping their job and caring for their health or their baby. With these updates, Washington is setting a new standard for supporting workers and families.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2027.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OLYMPIA \u2014 A bill to expand workplace protections for pregnant and postpartum workers was signed into law Tuesday.\u00a0 Senate Bill 5217, sponsored by Sen. T\u2019wina Nobles (D-Fircrest), expands pregnancy and postpartum workplace accommodations to all employers, regardless of size. It guarantees paid lactation breaks \u2014 including travel time if no suitable space is available \u2014 and prohibits employers from requiring workers to use meal or rest breaks for pumping. The bill also expands eligibility for jury duty excusal or deferral to include anyone breastfeeding or expressing milk for a child under 24 months.\u00a0 Currently, state law only mandates pregnancy-related accommodations&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":7961,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-release"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Nobles bill to expand pregnancy-related workplace accommodations signed into law - Sen. T\u2019wina Nobles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/nobles\/2025\/05\/20\/nobles-bill-to-expand-pregnancy-related-workplace-accommodations-signed-into-law\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nobles bill to expand pregnancy-related workplace accommodations signed into law - Sen. T\u2019wina Nobles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"OLYMPIA \u2014 A bill to expand workplace protections for pregnant and postpartum workers was signed into law Tuesday.\u00a0 Senate Bill 5217, sponsored by Sen. T\u2019wina Nobles (D-Fircrest), expands pregnancy and postpartum workplace accommodations to all employers, regardless of size. It guarantees paid lactation breaks \u2014 including travel time if no suitable space is available \u2014 and prohibits employers from requiring workers to use meal or rest breaks for pumping. The bill also expands eligibility for jury duty excusal or deferral to include anyone breastfeeding or expressing milk for a child under 24 months.\u00a0 Currently, state law only mandates pregnancy-related accommodations...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/nobles\/2025\/05\/20\/nobles-bill-to-expand-pregnancy-related-workplace-accommodations-signed-into-law\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sen. 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