Washington state Governor Bob Ferguson has signed House Bill 1879 (HB 1879) into law, which modifies meal and rest break requirements for hospital workers. The law takes effect Jan, 1, 2026.
The Details:
Under current law as outlined in Administrative Policy HLS.A.2. , the meal and rest break periods requirements are as follows:
· An employee working more than five hours must receive a 30-minute meal period between the second and fifth hour of work.
· A second, 30-minute meal period must be given within five hours of the end of the first meal period, and for each five hours worked thereafter.
· An employee working five consecutive hours or fewer would not need to be provided with a meal period.
· Employees may choose to waive the meal period requirements. If an employee wishes to waive a meal period, the department recommends obtaining a written request from the employee who chooses to waive the meal period. If, at a later date, the employee wishes to receive a meal period, any agreement would no longer be in effect. An employer can refuse to allow the employee to waive the meal period and require that an employee take a meal period.
· Employees must receive a rest period of at least ten minutes for each four hours of work.
Effective Jan. 1, 2026, the following modifications will be in effect:
An employer and employee may agree to waive:
· The meal period, if any, in a work shift of less than eight hours; or the second and/or third meal period in a work shift of eight hours or longer, so long as at least one meal period is provided and taken during the shift.
· An employer and employee may also agree to waive timing requirements for meal and rest periods, so long as the meal period starts no earlier than the third hour worked and no later than the second to last hour scheduled.
· Any waiver must be in writing or in electronic recordkeeping format. The employer must record the signed waiver in the applicable electronic information management system, and ensure the record is retrievable upon request.
· Any waiver must be voluntary, and the employer must expressly advise the employee that it is voluntary.
· The waiver must be agreed to by the employer and employee in advance of the first shift in which it is relied upon.
· Any waiver may be revoked at any time by the employer or employee.
Next steps:
Washington state hospital worker employers should review the modifications enacted under HB 1879 and implement any necessary changes to their processes regarding meal and rest break requirements for their workers.