Washington's Immigrant Worker Protection Act took full effect on October 1, 2026. If you employ people in Washington, two things are now on your list: a required workplace poster, and a written-notice duty that starts the moment a federal agency tells you it will inspect your Forms I-9. The deadlines are short, so it helps to set up the process before a notice ever arrives.
Last verified: October 19, 2026. General information, not legal advice.
What changed and when
The law is Second Substitute House Bill 2105 (Chapter 240, Laws of 2026), now codified as chapter 49.97 RCW. The session law says sections 4 through 10, which hold the employer duties, take effect October 1, 2026. The Attorney General's Office (AGO) said in its September 1 announcement that the law was taking full effect on October 1.
The law defines "employer" broadly: any business, and any state or local government body, that engages in activity in Washington and employs one or more workers.
The poster
Every covered employer must post, where worker notices are customarily posted, the poster the AGO developed (RCW 49.97.040). The AGO's Immigrant Worker Protection Act page offers it in English, Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Ukrainian and Mandarin Chinese, and says other languages can be requested by email. If your workforce is remote, think through how you will deliver the same information.
Notice when a federal agency inspects your I-9s
Within five business days of receiving notice from a federal agency of an inspection of Forms I-9 and related worker records, the employer must give a written notice to each worker, and to the worker's union representative if there is one. The notice must include a copy of the agency's notice of inspection, plus the agency's name, the date you received the notice, the types of records sought, and contact information for a statewide immigrant rights organization approved by the AGO. Most of this must appear in English and the five most common non-English languages in the state.
You must also post the notice and keep it posted through the end of the inspection, and send it directly to workers by hand delivery, mail with proof of delivery, email with proof of transmission, or text message with proof of transmission. The AGO publishes a model notice for I-9 inspections, and the statute says an employer that uses it according to the AGO's instructions satisfies the content requirements for purposes of the law's enforcement provisions.
Notice when inspection results arrive
A second five-business-day clock starts when you receive the written results. You must give each affected worker a copy of the agency's results notice, a written explanation of the employer's and worker's obligations, a description of any deficiencies identified for that worker, the time allowed to correct them, and options for a meeting time within that period. The worker must be told they have the right to representation at that meeting. These materials go to the affected worker only, with other workers' personal information redacted, and must be in the language you most regularly use with that worker. The AGO provides a separate model notice for affected employees.
Other rules in the same chapter
- Employers are not required by law to do I-9 self-audits, and any self-audit must comply with anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation laws.
- Employers may not impose verification or reverification requirements greater than those federal law requires.
- Retaliation against workers for exercising rights under the chapter is unlawful.
- The chapter does not restrict compliance with an E-Verify memorandum of understanding or with federal verification law.
Enforcement
The AGO can investigate and bring actions. For each failure to give a required notice, the court must order $500 in statutory damages to the AGO per instance, doubled if willful, though the court may waive or reduce it for an inadvertent violation that caused no actual harm and was promptly corrected (RCW 49.97.090). Workers can also sue, with statutory damages of 40 times the hourly Washington minimum wage per plaintiff per violation, or actual damages if greater (RCW 49.97.100).
What to do this week
- Download the poster and both model notices from the AGO page and post the poster at each Washington worksite.
- Decide who receives federal inspection notices, and make sure that person knows the five-business-day clocks start on receipt.
- Pick your delivery methods now, and plan how you will keep proof of delivery.
- Check where your people are located, including remote workers, and ask counsel or your PEO how the law applies to them.
- Review your I-9 and reverification practices against the rule on going beyond federal requirements.
This post summarizes the statute and the AGO's guidance only. Questions about a specific situation belong with your counsel or PEO. The AGO lists IWPA@atg.wa.gov for questions.
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