SB 5626 Washington Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Creating a wage replacement program for certain Washington workers excluded from unemployment insurance.

SB 5626 creates a wage replacement program in Washington State for workers excluded from standard unemployment insurance, such as independent contractors, gig workers, and others not covered by traditional UI. It establishes a state-managed fund to provide weekly payments to eligible applicants who meet residency requirements (verified through documents like utility bills, school records, or Washington ID) and experience job loss. The program will be administered by a third-party contractor selected by the Employment Security Department, with outreach to potential applicants through community organizations. The bill is pending in the Senate Ways & Means Committee after a public hearing, with implementation required by July 2026.

Issues: ✓ Labor & Employment

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Last action Jan 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to streamline administrative processes, clarify residency requirements, and adjust the timeline for selecting a third-party administrator. The primary changes involve renaming terms from 'claimant/benefits' to 'applicant/payments' for consistency with other state laws, simplifying the selection of the program administrator by removing the specific July 1, 2026 deadline, and updating the list of acceptable documents to prove Washington residency.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains the same, creating a wage replacement program for workers ineligible for standard unemployment insurance, but the administrative structure and eligibility documentation requirements have been modified.

DEFINITION

Terminology was updated throughout the bill to replace 'claimant' with 'applicant' and 'benefits' with 'payments' to align with standard state definitions.

REQUIREMENT

The definition of 'employment' was expanded to explicitly exclude services performed by nonimmigrants under specific visa categories (F, H-2, H-3, and J visas).

The list of acceptable documents to prove Washington residency was updated to include a Washington state identification card and correspondence from community or faith-based organizations.

TIMELINE

The specific deadline for selecting a third-party administrator was removed, replacing the fixed date with a general requirement that the department select an administrator by July 1, 2026.

FISCAL

The section regarding the 'Washington wage replacement account' was renumbered and slightly reworded to reflect the new terminology and streamlined administrative timeline.

TECHNICAL

The bill's title and sponsorship section were updated to reflect the new bill number (S-1734.1) and a revised reading date (02/21/25).

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jan 12, 2026

Introduced

By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.

upper

Feb 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 1:30 PM.

upper

Feb 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to Ways & Means.

upper

Feb 21, 2025

Upper · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

upper

Feb 21, 2025

Committee

And refer to Ways & Means.

upper

Feb 21, 2025

Upper · Passed

Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce at 8:00 AM.

upper

Feb 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce at 10:30 AM.

upper

1 primary · 13 co-sponsors