In-person:
Department of Labor & Industries
7273 Linderson Way SW
Tumwater, WA 98501

A pre-hearing overview will begin at 1:00 p.m. The public hearing will start at 1:30 p.m. and will continue until all oral comments are received.

L&I encourages the submittal of written comments, due by 5:00 p.m. on April 17, 2026.

The purpose of this rulemaking is to amend Chapter 296-125 WAC and create Chapter 296-122 WAC, Agricultural employment of minors. The proposed rules will implement the following: (1) Substitute House Bill 1121 (SHB 1121), Chapter 79, Laws of 2025, requires L&I to allow minors enrolled in career and technical education programs to work the same number of hours during the school year as during school vacations, so long as the work is performed for an employer approved by the educational program; (2) Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1644 (ESHB 1644), Chapter 173, Laws of 2025, requires safety-and-health and child labor consultations for employers seeking certain child labor exceptions. The bill also increases consequences for failures to keep minor workers safe in agricultural and non-agricultural industries; and (3) House Bill 1722 (HB 1722), Chapter 98, Laws of 2025, requires L&I to allow minors with certain licenses to work around bloodborne pathogens. Chapter 296-122 WAC incorporates the existing agricultural child labor requirements found in Chapter 296-131 WAC. The proposed rules include the changes to hours of work and prohibited duty standards required by SHB 1121 and HB 1722, respectively. The proposed changes also incorporate and clarify the consultation requirement and penalty structure of ESHB 1644. L&I is also proposing rules to clarify and improve readability for existing requirements in Chapter 296-125 WAC, including reorganizing, combining, renumbering, and moving existing standards, as well as repealing any duplicates. The proposed rules also include housekeeping and technical updates to ensure Chapters 296-125 and 296-122 WAC describe L&I’s existing child labor procedures. The proposed rules also improve the alignment of state and federal non-agricultural prohibited duty standards, and between child labor protections and procedures in agricultural and non-agricultural industries. L&I is also proposing to remove outdated requirements in Chapters 296-125 and 296-131 WAC and WAC 296-128-400.