Domestic worker protections makes a return

Plus Rivian gears up for a ballot fight over auto sales, a public-records exemption to safeguard elected officials, and some recommended reading/listening

Democrats’ effort to give workplace protections to domestic workers — think nannies, housecleaners and gardeners — died at the end of the 2025 session over entity definitions and implementation concerns. The “Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights” is back this year in the form of HB 2355, sponsored by Rep. Brianna Thomas, D-West Seattle.

Last year’s version looked to establish protections like a minimum wage, a written contract between the employer and employee and prohibition of taking workers’ personal belongings, like their passports. This year’s version is largely a copy.

Last year’s bill died in the House Rules Committee while policymakers debated who terms such as “hiring entity” and “domestic worker” actually applied to. The sponsor of last year’s bill, Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, D-Seattle, said “people got hung up in their own lives.” Questions about specific scenarios, such as an elder with a weekly housekeeper, or one-time work. The bill passed the Senate over 20 “no” votes, 19 of which came from Republicans, who argued domestic workers already fall under independent contractor protections and that the bill would make hiring such workers difficult.