THE GORGE — With the new year comes new laws taking effect in Washington State on Jan. 1. The one affecting the most people is probably the increase in minimum wage to $16.66 per hour. That’s a 2.35% increase from 2024, and it is the highest across-the-board state minimum wage.
By comparison, California is $16.50 for most workers, and $18 and above for health care workers.
Neighboring states are quite different. Idaho is one of the 20 states that use only the federal standard of $7.25 an hour, which has not been changed since 2009.
Oregon is divided into three geographic zones by county. It’s $15.45 per hour in the three Portland metro area counties — Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington. The “standard” of $14.70 per hour applies to 15 counties, generally those in the Willamette Valley and the coast from Lane to Clatsop, plus Hood River, Wasco, Deschutes, Josephine and Jackson. The other 18 on the south coast and most of Eastern Oregon, it’s $13.20. They will all increase July 1.
House Bill 2214 guarantees free college tuition to low-income students starting in the 2025-26 academic year. Students in grades 10-12 who receive Basic Food or Food Assistance Program benefits are automatically qualified for the Washington College Grant financial aid program.
A policy issued by Labor and Industries last June, starting Jan. 1, restricts hospitals from requiring mandatory overtime for employees directly involved in patient care, including nurses, surgical technicians and other clinical staff. The law applies to workers who are paid hourly or covered by a collective bargaining agreement. Larger hospitals are affected Jan. 1, while smaller hospitals and critical access facilities have until July 1.
Senate Bill 5793, Washington’s new Paid Sick Leave law, mandates that workers, including drivers for transportation companies, will have access to paid sick leave and will be protected from discrimination or retaliation when exercising their rights. That includes transportation network company drivers, like Uber and DoorDash, when their child’s school or place of care closes due to an emergency declaration by local, state, or federal authorities.
Plan to pay more attention and drive carefully, too, because Washington State is also increasing penalties and fines for drivers who cause serious injuries or fatalities to pedestrians due to negligent driving. And it’s now illegal to use license plate covers, frames, holders, or other materials that hide or alter the license plate. The fine is $237.
There are other more specialized changes. One of them is from House Bill 1766, the “Hope Card Act.” It solves one of the problems for people who have obtained a protective order against someone. As the language of the bill states, “Washingtonians who receive protection orders, however, are often confronted by a difficult choice — always carry a paper copy of the order with them, an inconvenient option that could result in the document being damaged or lost, or risk not having access to proper documentation should assistance from law enforcement or emergency services become necessary.”
Now they will be issued a “Hope Card,” a laminated plastic card that can be scanned to provide information both about the victim and the stalker or threatening person.
Similar programs are in place in Oregon, Idaho and Montana.
New laws taking effect in Oregon
Beginning Jan. 1, HB 4147 gives schools approval to install cameras on school buses to capture drivers who fail to stop for school buses, information that can be turned over to law enforcement for citation. The bill does specify that these cameras must be used only to capture drivers who defy the stop arm — it can’t be used to monitor the bus driver or students on the bus.
SB 1502 requires school boards in Oregon to make available recordings of their meetings for transparency with the public. There’s an exception for districts with fewer than 50 students, and districts in areas with spotty internet access can post an audio recording instead of video. Executive sessions are exempt.
SB 1532 requires the Oregon Department of Education to develop a statewide education plan for asylum seekers, refugees and any other immigrants, regardless of status.
SB 1533 increases the number of languages other than English in which voter pamphlets can be made available from five to 10. The bill doesn’t specify the languages involved, just that they be the 10 most commonly spoken in the state.
And there are a few laws passed several years ago that are just starting to go into effect in 2025. The biggest impact likely comes from an earlier bill requiring agricultural workers to be eligible for overtime after 48 hours in the new year.
Previously, the overtime threshold was 55 hours — and even that was controversial. A number of farm owners have claimed that they do not make enough money to pay overtime, so they’ve instead taken to hiring more farmworkers and limiting their hours instead of paying overtime.
Commented