RCW 49.45.010
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/wa/title-49/chapter-49-45/49-45-010A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 6106.SL ) ***
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1)"Affected employee" means an employee who may reasonably expect to experience an employment loss because of a proposed business closing or mass layoff by an employer.
(2)"Aggrieved employee" means an employee who has worked for the employer ordering the business closing or mass layoff and who, because of the employer's failure to comply with the requirements of chapter 277, Laws of 2025, did not receive timely notice either directly or through the employee's representative.
(3)"Bargaining representative" means an exclusive representative of employees under the national labor relations act, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq., or the railway labor act, 45 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq.
(4)"Business closing" means the permanent or temporary shutdown of a single site of employment of one or more facilities or operating units that will result in an employment loss for 50 or more employees, excluding part-time employees.
(5)"Commissioner" means the commissioner of the employment security department.
(6)"Department" means the employment security department.
(7)"Employee" means a person employed in this state by an employer. "Employee" includes part-time employees.
(8)"Employer" means a person who employs 50 or more employees in this state, excluding part-time employees. "Employer" does not include the state or any political subdivision thereof, including any unit of local government.
(9)(a) "Employment loss" means:
(i)An employment termination, other than a discharge for cause, voluntary separation, or retirement;
(ii)A layoff exceeding six months; or
(iii)A reduction in hours of more than 50 percent of work of individual employees during each month of a six-month period.
(b)"Employment loss" does not include instances when a business closing or mass layoff is the result of the relocation or consolidation of part or all of the employer's business and, before the business closing or mass layoff, the employer offers to transfer the employee to a different site of employment within a reasonable commuting distance, as defined by the department, with no more than a six-month break in employment.
(10)"Mass layoff" means a reduction in employment force that is not the result of a business closing and results in an employment loss during any 30-day period of 50 or more employees, excluding part-time employees.
(11)"Part-time employee" means an employee who is employed for an average of fewer than 20 hours per week, or an employee who has been employed for fewer than six of the twelve months preceding the date on which notice is required. However, if an applicable collective bargaining agreement defines a part-time employee, such definition shall supersede the definition in this subsection.
(12)"Single site of employment" means a single location or a group of contiguous locations, such as a group of structures that form a campus or business park or separate facilities across the street from each other.
[ 2025 c 277 s 1 .]