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New Laws for 2021: SHB 1206 (Washington)

 

Recently, the Washington Legislature passed and Governor Jay Inslee signed into law SHB 1206 which is designed to protect temporary workers from workplace hazards and injury.

The legislation stipulates new obligations for staffing agencies and worksite employers.  

  • For staffing agencies, they must enquire about worksite employer’s safety and health practices and hazards at the job site where the employee will be working.  This is required so that the staffing agency may assess the safety conditions, workers tasks, and the worksite employer’s safety program.  (Obligations to visit the job site after this initial assessment are also included in the legislation.)  Notably, the staffing agency must meet these requirements prior to the start of the placement contract.
  • For employers, they must document and inform the staffing agency about about anticipated job hazards, review the training provided by the staffing agency to establish if it addresses the anticipated hazards, provide specific training tailored to the anticipated hazards, maintain self specific training records, and provide the staffing agency with notice that the training occurred within 3 business days of the training.  Notably, the employer must meet these requirements prior to the temporary employee engaging in work.

For those employers in Washington, the law is set to take effect on July 31st.  Plan accordingly.


For additional information:  https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1206&Initiative=false&Year=2021

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