SHB 2107
SignedHouse
Construction hazards notice
Concerning notice requirements of identified hazards at construction worksites.
How does a bill become law?
- Introduced: The bill is filed and assigned a number.
- Committee: A subject-matter committee holds hearings, takes public testimony, and decides whether to advance the bill.
- Floor Vote: The full chamber (House or Senate) debates and votes on the bill.
- Opposite Chamber: The bill repeats the committee and floor vote process in the other chamber.
- Governor: The Governor reviews the bill and decides whether to sign or veto it.
- Signed: The bill has been signed into law.
AI Analysis
This bill requires the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries to notify employers or property owners within 10 working days if inspectors identify hazards during inspections of general construction sites. The notice is intended to help employers address safety issues sooner, without changing their legal obligations or eliminating other enforcement tools.
- Requires the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries to notify employers or owners within 10 working days if a hazard that could cause worker injury is identified during an inspection of general construction sites (NAICS 2361).
- The notice is meant to inform employers of hazards but does not replace formal citations or change existing legal responsibilities.
- The notice requirement applies only to inspections of worksites where workers are engaged in general construction (NAICS 2361).
- The requirement is temporary and expires on June 30, 2027 (originally set to expire June 30, 2026, but extended by the bill’s effective date).
- By December 1, 2026, the Department must report to the legislature on how often the 10-day notice requirement was not met and why.
Who is affected
- Construction employers and property owners — Construction employers and property owners must be notified within 10 working days if inspectors identify hazards during inspections of general construction sites (NAICS 2361). This does not change their legal responsibilities but provides earlier awareness of potential safety issues.
- Construction workers — Workers on construction sites benefit from faster awareness of hazards, potentially reducing time between hazard identification and corrective action.
- Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) — The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) must implement a new notice process and report annually on compliance with the 10-day notice requirement.
Pro/Con Analysis
Stronger case for concerns
Potential Benefits (3)
By requiring L&I to notify employers within 10 working days of hazard identification, the bill may reduce the time between hazard discovery and employer awareness — potentially accelerating voluntary abatement and lowering risk of injury before formal citations are issued.
Public SafetyPeopleRef: Sec. 1(6)(a)The reporting requirement (by December 1, 2026) creates transparency around L&I’s operational performance, enabling legislative oversight and data-driven improvements — if the legislature acts on the data, this could lead to future policy reforms or resource reallocations.
Local GovernmentPeopleRef: Sec. 1(6)(c)The notice requirement may improve communication between inspectors and employers, fostering a more collaborative safety culture — especially if paired with voluntary compliance incentives, it could reduce repeat violations over time.
Public SafetyPeopleRef: Sec. 1(6)(a)
Potential Concerns (5)
The bill creates a new notice requirement for construction hazards but explicitly states it does *not* eliminate or modify any legal rights, responsibilities, or enforcement authority — meaning employers retain full discretion over whether to act on the notice, and workers remain vulnerable until formal citations are issued. This dilutes the practical safety impact by making the notice purely advisory, with no enforcement teeth.
Public SafetyRef: Sec. 1(6)(a)The bill requires L&I to produce an annual report on noncompliance with the 10-day notice requirement, but provides no mechanism to penalize or correct failures — turning the reporting into a transparency exercise without accountability, increasing administrative burden without improving outcomes.
Local GovernmentRef: Sec. 1(6)(c)While framed as helping employers, the requirement applies only to general construction (NAICS 2361), excluding specialty trade contractors (e.g., electricians, plumbers, HVAC), who represent over half of Washington’s construction workforce — meaning most small construction firms and their workers are left out of the benefit entirely.
Business & EmploymentRef: Sec. 1(6)(a)The 10-day notice window is arbitrary and may not align with actual hazard abatement timelines — some hazards require immediate correction (e.g., unstable trenching), while others can wait; the one-size-fits-all timeline adds administrative overhead without guaranteeing faster resolution of time-sensitive risks.
Public SafetyRef: Sec. 1(6)(a)The bill does not require employers to acknowledge or respond to the notice, nor does it create any legal inference from delayed action — meaning employers can receive the notice, ignore it, and still avoid liability unless L&I issues a formal citation within six months, preserving the status quo.
Business & EmploymentRef: Sec. 1(6)(a)
Who Is Most Affected
Small construction employers (e.g., framing crews, small general contractors) may benefit from earlier hazard awareness, but face added administrative burden with no legal incentive to act on the notice — and no penalty for ignoring it. Most will treat it as informational only.
Workers on residential construction sites may benefit from faster hazard awareness, but only if employers choose to act — and since the notice is non-binding, actual injury reduction is uncertain and likely modest.
L&I gains a new procedural requirement and reporting duty, increasing workload slightly but without new enforcement authority. The agency gains transparency leverage but not additional tools to compel action.
Large general contractors with safety departments may absorb the notice process easily, while smaller firms with limited admin staff may struggle — potentially widening compliance disparities across firm size.
Property owners (e.g., developers, apartment complexes) named in notices may gain awareness but remain legally unobligated to act — the notice does not change their liability exposure or duties under WAC 296-155.