This rulemaking is a result of Substitute House Bill 2602, which passed the 2008 Legislature and became effective on April 1, 2008. This bill requires employers to provide employees who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or whose family members are victims, with reasonable or intermittent leave from work, upon advance notice except in emergencies, for seeking or obtaining legal or law-enforcement assistance, medical treatment, social services, or counseling, or for safety planning or relocation. This bill prohibits employers from discriminating against employees who exercise rights protected by this bill and it creates administrative and civil causes of action for violation of the provisions of the bill. The department is drafting rules in order to administer and enforce the law.528.

The department is incorporating 19 employment standard administrative policies into the employment standard rules. By integrating the policies into rules, the employment standard rules will be easier to use, understand, and provide greater certainty and consistency.372.