Quarterly HR Update – September 2026

Happy Fall to all!

As wonderful as summer is, there is also something comforting about all the familiar rituals of fall…even if you don’t like pumpkin spice.

This update covers a LOT of information. Some topics may look familiar from previous updates or articles, as we revisit them to highlight changes, new effective dates, or upcoming applicability to employers of different sizes. All of this reminds us that keeping track of employment laws and employer requirements is complex! Our goal is to keep track of the important stuff and share what you need to know to help you run your organization.

And, as always, we’re here for you! If you need help or additional support on any of the topics discussed below, please reach out.

Please note this is a summary of upcoming changes and not an all-inclusive overview.

HRT News

Welcome Wendy Noel Walker to the HRT Team!

Noel brings over 20 years of HR experience in HR Consulting, HR Management and Business Partnering. She has supported multiple industries, including banking, tech, hospitality, manufacturing, healthcare, and non-profit. She holds certifications for SHRM-SCP, PHR and Diversity and Compliance, and is a proud graduate of Cal State Dominguez Hills (Go Toros!) with a B.A. in History. Wendy Noel has extensive experience in investigations, employee relations, training, performance management, leaves of absence, and multi-state employment law compliance. In her spare time, she loves caring for her family, connecting with family and friends across the country, serving on the Board of a non-profit arts education/preservation foundation, and enjoying the beauty of Oregon.

Legal Updates & Info

Under Federal Law

EEO-1 Reporting: Not much to report here! Back in June we reported there has been no deadline announced for the 2025 EE0-1 reporting and we are still waiting. We will continue tracking this (which includes tracking the ultimate fate of EEO-1 reporting which might be discontinued) and will send an update once a decision has been made.

Medicare Part D Notification Requirements: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) require group health plan sponsors to provide the Medicare Part D Creditable Coverage Disclosure to Medicare-eligible individuals before October 15^th of each year. We find that most plans are creditable (which means your prescription drug plan offers the same or better benefits than the Medicare Part D plan) and often brokers will include a Medicare Part D Notice in open enrollment packets. In terms of next steps to meet this notification requirement:

Determine if your group prescription drug plan is creditable. (If you are unsure, check with your broker)
If not provided by your broker, customize the appropriate model notice here. (Very few fields need to be customized!)
Send the Disclosure to all plan participants by the October 15 deadline. (While the requirement is to send the Disclosure to Medicare-eligible individuals, because it is difficult to know who is Medicare-eligible, we recommend sending the Disclosure to all plan participants)

Drug Testing & Cannabis Laws: If you drug test, check out this great Fisher Phillips article that outlines updates at the federal level that could impact your policies/practices. Reach out with questions!

Ever-Changing Artificial Intelligence…: Is anyone else feeling like Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing way faster than you can keep up with? We sure do – and we know changes are having an impact on the workplace. We are not AI experts, but we came across this helpful and thorough article from Fisher Phillips and wanted to share it as a resource. It provides a useful overview of some of the ways AI is evolving and what employers may want to keep in mind.

Under Washington Law

State & City Minimum Wage Changes, effective January 1, 2027: Washington State and Seattle recently announced their minimum wage changes effective January 1, 2027:

Seattle 2027 Minimum Wage: $22.14 (increased from $21.30)
Washington 2027 Minium Wage: $17.73 (increased from $17.13)

The Department of L&I maintains a Local Minimum Wage Rates site that is a great resource for rates in other cities; this has not yet been updated for 2027.

Exempt Salary Threshold Increase, effective January 1, 2027: Now that the 2027 minimum wage rate is officially set in Washington, we know the 2027 exempt salary threshold figures since they are determined based on a minimum wage multiplier. As a reminder, the current 2026 threshold is the same for both small and large employers – $80,168.40. Effective 2027 the threshold will jump considerably for large employers and less so for small. The 2027 exempt salary thresholds are:

For small employers (1 to 50 employees): $82,976.40 annually
From large employers (51 or more employees): $92,196.00 annually

For the last and final year outlined on the implementation schedule, 2028 will align small and large employers again, with a bigger increase for small employers. And, two quick related reminders/notes:

Exempt employees in Washington who qualify for exemption under the computer professional exemption and are paid an hourly rate, must be paid $62.06 per hour as of January 1, 2027 (up from $59.96 per hour in 2026).
To be exempt from overtime under both federal and state laws, a position must meet a specific salary threshold and the position’s job duties must meet the regulatory requirements of an exempt position. (Simply paying an employee the minimum salary does not make the employee exempt.)

Immigrant Worker Protections: As a reminder, the Immigrant Worker Protection Act (IWPA) is effective October 1, 2026. The important step for all employers now is to ensure the workplace poster is posted as of October 1^st. Our New WA IWPA Posting Requirement article provides all the information you need about the posting requirement – check it out if you haven’t already.

Washington Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) – Job Protections: Effective January 1, 2027, employers with 15 or more employees must provide job reinstatement to eligible employees who take leave under Washington PFML. When Washington PFML regulations were first effective, the job reinstatement rights were aligned with FMLA requirements, essentially requiring only employers with 50 or more employees to reinstate eligible employees at the end of leave. Since then, the compliance threshold has dropped based on employer size. It’s important to note this next phase now so policies and practices can be updated in time for the 2027 date. (Note, when assessing employee eligibility for job reinstatement, the criteria is 180 days of employment prior to leave).

Washington Saves Program: If you don’t yet offer a retirement plan to all employees 18 and older, listen up! As we noted back in December 2024, Governor Inslee signed a bill establishing the Washington Saves Program, which goes into effect July 1, 2027. The program is for employees without access to employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Per the L&I Washington Saves Retirement Program website, “employees 18 years and older will be auto-enrolled in a Washington Saves IRA. While participation will be automatic, employees will have the choice to opt out. Employees will also have the choice to adjust their contribution levels or stop participating at any time. Qualified employers will enroll eligible employees and manage the deduction from their paychecks. The Washington Saves program will collect these deductions and invest them on behalf of participating workers.”

If you do not offer an employer-sponsored retirement plan, or if you do but not all employees 18 years or older are eligible within one year of employment, we encourage you to review the L&I site and start making plans to comply with this new requirement. Please reach out to HRT with questions.

Pregnancy-Related Accommodations & Lactation Breaks: With the effective date of January 1, 2027 approaching, we want to remind employers of the new requirements we reported on previously related to pregnancy accommodations and lactation breaks:

All employers in Washington must provide pregnancy-related accommodations; there is no exemption for nonprofit or religious organizations.
Lactation breaks (and the time spent traveling to the lactation location) must be separate from regular meal/rest breaks.
Lactation breaks are paid.
Reasonable accommodation extends to flexibility for scheduling postnatal visits. (Note prenatal visits were already included).

Fair Chance Act Amendment: Effective January 1, 2027, employers with fewer than 15 employees must comply with HB 1747, which previously amended the 2018 Fair Chance Act (i.e. “Ban the Box”) by outlining additional restrictions around an employer’s ability to inquire about a candidate’s criminal history. (Note, employers with 15 or more employees were already required to comply as of July 1, 2026). For employers with fewer than 15 employees, here is a reminder:

Employers must wait until after extending a conditional job offer before inquiring about or asking questions about criminal history. If an employer decides to take adverse action on a candidate after learning about their criminal history (after the conditional job offer), there are specific notification requirements an employer must meet.
Employers are prohibited from having policies or actual practices that automatically exclude individuals with criminal records; rejecting someone because they didn’t share information before a conditional offer was made; taking adverse actions in situations relating to juvenile convictions, arrest records, non-legitimate business reasons, or without following required notification requirements.

In addition, the Attorney General has provided an updated Guide for employers to use.

Under Oregon Law

Oregon OSHA’s Workplace Violence Rules for Healthcare: Oregon OSHA is working on specific rules for healthcare employers to follow related to workplace violence. While the rules aren’t finalized yet, they are expected to be effective for January 2027. If you are a hospital (other than the Oregon State Hospital), an ambulatory surgical center, a home health agency, or a home hospice program, check out this Fisher Phillips article for more information.

Under California Law

Minimum Wage & Exempt Salary Threshold Increases, effective January 1, 2027: California is planning some wage-related changes for 2027. If you are a California employer or have California employees, here is what you need to know:

Effective January 1, 2027, the minimum wage for all California employers is $17.40 per hour. (This is up from $16.90 per hour). (Source)
Keep an eye on local changes too – cities or counties may have minimum wage changes as well. Please check your specific city requirements.
The exempt salary threshold (for white-collar exemptions to overtime requirements) will increase to $72,384 per year on January 1, 2027. (This is up from $70,304 per year).

Bereavement Leave (SB 1149): Effective January 1, 2027, employees in California will be allowed to take bereavement leave for a “designated person”, which effectively broadens the more traditional definition of “family member” to include any blood-related relative as well as individuals “whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.”

As noted in SB 1149 (which was signed by Governor Newsom late on September 27^th), “This designated person may be identified by the employee at the time the employee requests the leave. An employer may limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period for bereavement leave.”

Harassment Training Requirements & Hate Speech (AB 1803): While this new requirement is not effective until January 2028, we are including a brief overview since Governor Newsom signed AB 1803 on September 27^th. Effective January 1, 2028, California employers will be required to incorporate “anti-hate speech training” into their Harassment Prevention training for both supervisors and employees. The length of the training does not need to be extended but this updated content must be included. We’ll report more details next fall.

HRT Northwest: Your Northwest HR Team

(253) 642-7372 | info@hrtnorthwest.com

This Update is not a full overview of all recent or upcoming legal changes. HRT Northwest is staffed by professionals in the field of Human Resources and business management. We are glad to help with your HR needs; however, we do not offer legal advice and our services are not a substitute for the help of a qualified attorney.