Washington State Expands Paid Sick Leave Law To Include Coverage for Immigration Proceedings and Hate Crime Victims

As we have previously discussed, state paid sick leave laws continue expanding. In 2025, states which previously had no sick leave requirements (Nebraska and Alaska) will now require employers to provide employees with paid sick leave, while other states with existing paid sick leave laws (Connecticut, Minnesota, and Michigan) made changes to their respective requirements. During the 2025 legislative session, Washington state joined the latter group by amending its paid sick leave law to increase paid sick leave coverage for employees with two new bills.

The first bill, SB 5101, amends the state’s Domestic Violence Leave law to include victims of hate crimes (and their family members). The amendment essentially expands the reasons for which employees may use paid sick leave to include: 

• Preparing for or participating in legal proceedings related to hate crimes;
• Seeking health care treatment caused by hate crimes;
• Obtaining (or assisting a family member in obtaining) services from domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, or other social services programs for relief from hate crimes; 
• Obtaining (or assisting a family member in obtaining) mental health counseling related to hate crimes; and
• Participating in safety planning, relocating, or taking other action to increase the safety of the employee (or their family member) from future hate crimes.

The second bill, HB 1875, amends the state’s paid sick leave statute itself to include protections for employees or their family members who must participate in immigration proceedings. Specifically, employers may now take paid sick leave to prepare for, or participate in, any judicial or administrative immigration proceeding involving the employee or their family member.

In addition, HB 1875 imposes strict requirements on employers in terms of what verification documents must be accepted and the level of information those documents may contain. Employers must accept documentation that the employee or their family member is involved in an immigration proceeding from an advocate for immigrants or refugees, an attorney, a member of the clergy, or other professional. Alternatively, an employee may provide their own written statement that either the employee or their family member is involved in an immigration proceeding and that the leave was taken for preparing for, or participating in, that proceeding. 

Regardless of which form of verification the employee provides, the documentation must not disclose any personally identifiable information about a person’s immigration status or underlying immigration protection.

SB 5101 takes effect on January 1, 2026, so employers have some time to ensure that their employee handbooks, and any applicable paid leave, paid sick leave, and paid time off policies are updated to permit use for hate crime-related leave. However, HB 1875 is already in effect as of July 27, 2025, so employers should promptly review and update their handbooks and applicable leave policies to permit use for immigration proceedings and train human resources staff on new qualifying paid sick leave uses and documentation requirements.