Washington State's New Immigrant Worker Protection Act

0:00Washington State just dropped the Immigrant Worker Protection Act, signed into law by Governor Bob Ferguson on Monday. It forces employers to notify workers fast if federal agencies like Homeland Security or Labor announce an I-9 inspection to check work. Authorization docs. Here's how it works. Feds give employers advance notice by law, then bosses have five business days to spread the word. That means posting notices where folks can see them in English plus the state's top five non-English languages and sending alerts through text. Mail or whatever they usually use. The Attorney General's Office whips up a sample notice to make it simple. Industry folks, especially in agriculture, ain't happy. They worry about big penalties like $500 per violation per worker to the state or employees suing for up to 40 times the minimum. Farmers say they're already hurting losing nearly $400 million more than they earned last year. Supporters argue it shields immigrant workers from surprise audits that could flag expired statuses or paperwork glitches leveling the field so all.

1:07Employers follow rules. It's a narrow fix they say and compliance is straightforward. Meanwhile, Washington joins Oregon, California and Illinois with similar laws. Proposed by Attorney General Nick Brown and led by Representative Lilian Ortiz Self. It's sparking debate on protecting workers without squeezing. Business is too hard. This has been Vancouver News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story.