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June 8, 2026
Effective January 1, 2027, the Washington state statute governing pregnancy and postpartum accommodations will apply to all employers in the state, regardless of the employer’s size. Under current Washington law, only employers with 15 or more employees are required to provide such accommodations. Nonprofit sectarian and religious organizations are not exempt.
Under current Washington law, employers must accommodate employees for pregnancy absent a showing that doing so would impose an undue hardship. The law broadens the definition of “reasonable accommodation” to include scheduling flexibility for postpartum medical visits, whereas the current law requires such scheduling flexibility only for prenatal visits.
The definition of “reasonable accommodation” includes providing break time for an employee to express milk and providing a private location that may be used to express breast milk. Under the amendment, employers must pay employees their regular rate of pay for break time used to express breastmilk during work hours and for travel time to access lactation locations. Employers are prohibited from requiring employees to use their paid leave for break or related travel time to express milk during work. Break times for expressing milk must be provided separately from and in addition to regular meal and rest periods required by law.
The amendment tasks the Department of Labor and Industries with adopting rules for implementing and enforcing the law.
Responsibility for investigating complaints of noncompliance with the law and enforcing compliance resides with the Department of Labor and Industries. If the Department cannot reach agreement with the employer regarding resolution of a complaint after making a good faith effort to do so, it may issue a temporary order to restrain any violation.
Additionally, the statute provides for a private right of action against employers alleged to have caused injury due to a violation of the law. Available remedies include injunctive relief and actual damages, plus costs and attorney’s fees.
Washington has also amended its statute on jury service to provide that a person who is breastfeeding or expressing breast milk for an infant under 24 months old may request to delay or be excused from jury service if the person attests that they are unable to serve for this reason. A doctor’s note is not required. That amendment also will be effective on January 1, 2027.
As with any change in the law affecting the workplace, employers should assess their policies and practices with respect to pregnancy accommodations, including providing their employees with notice of their rights and remedies, and training management and HR on the new requirements.
The author of this article, Karen E. Milner, is a member of the Bars of Louisiana and Pennsylvania This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Washington, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.
