Title 41 — Title 41 PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT, CIVIL SERVICE, AND PENSIONS

The legislature finds that (1) demographic, economic, and social trends underlie a critical and increasing demand for child care in the state of Washington; (2) working parents and their children benefit when the employees' child care needs have been resolved; (3) the state of Wa…

(1) The legislature finds that flexible-time work schedules, which provide varying times for employees to arrive at and depart from work, tend to alleviate traffic congestion during peak rush hour periods and thereby reduce hazardous traffic conditions; provide more efficient use…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2034-S2.SL) ***Retirement benefits paid under chapter 41.26, 41.37, 41.40, or 43.43 RCW to beneficiaries of public safety officers who die in the line of duty shall be paid in accordance with Title 26 U.S.C. Sec. 101(h) as amended by the Fallen Hero Su…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2034-S2.SL) ***It is the purpose of RCW 41.04.405 through 41.04.430 to govern the retirement rights of persons whose employment status is altered when: (1) Two or more units of local government of this state, at least one of which is a first-class city…

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout RCW 41.04.400 through 41.04.430.(1) "Legal entity" means any political subdivision or municipal corporation of the state, including but not limited to public agencies created under RCW…

If a consolidated employer is a participating member in the public employees' retirement system under chapter 41.40 RCW prior to the consolidation or in the public safety employees' retirement system under chapter 41.37 RCW prior to the consolidation:(1) All existing employees of…

If a consolidated employer is a city operating a first-class city retirement system under chapter 41.28 RCW prior to the consolidation:(1) All existing employees of the consolidated employer who are active members of the first-class city retirement system immediately prior to the…

If a consolidated employer is a newly created legal entity and does not immediately join the public employees' retirement system pursuant to RCW 41.40.062:(1) All existing employees of the consolidated employer who are active members of a first-class city retirement system or the…

Notwithstanding any provision of RCW 41.04.410, 41.04.415, or 41.04.420:(1) No person may simultaneously accrue any contractual rights whatsoever in more than one Washington public retirement system as a consequence of employment by a consolidated employer.(2) No person who makes…

(1) Consolidated employers that employ persons governed by RCW 41.04.410, 41.04.415, or 41.04.420 shall comply with all laws and rules governing the retirement system in which the persons participate as members, including but not limited to the obligations to make employer contri…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2034-S2.SL) ***(1) The sole purpose of RCW 41.04.445 and 41.04.450 is to allow the members of the retirement systems created in chapters 2.10, 2.12, 41.26, 41.32, 41.35, 41.37, 41.40, 41.34, and 43.43 RCW to enjoy the tax deferral benefits allowed unde…

(1) This section applies to all members who are:(a) Judges under the retirement system established under chapter 2.10, 2.12, or 2.14 RCW;(b) Employees of the state under the retirement system established by chapter 41.32, 41.37, 41.40, or 43.43 RCW;(c) Employees of school distric…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2034-S2.SL) ***(1) Employers of those members under chapters 41.26, 41.34, 41.35, 41.37, and 41.40 RCW who are not specified in RCW 41.04.445 may choose to implement the employer pick up of all member contributions without exception under RCW 41.26.080…

The following two conditions apply to the employer pick up of member contributions authorized under RCW 41.04.445 (section 2, chapter 227, Laws of 1984):(1) The retirement contributions, although designated as member contributions, will be picked up by the employer, as provided i…

The department of enterprise services, through the combined benefits communication project, shall prepare information encouraging individual financial planning for retirement and describing the potential consequences of early retirement, including members' assumption of health in…

County, municipal, and political subdivision employers of full-time, commissioned law enforcement officers and full-time, paid firefighters shall provide a disability leave supplement to such employees who qualify for payments under RCW 51.32.090 due to a temporary total disabili…

The disability leave supplement shall be an amount which, when added to the amount payable under RCW 51.32.090 will result in the employee receiving the same pay he or she would have received for full time active service, taking into account that industrial insurance payments are…

The disability leave supplement shall be paid as follows:(1) The disability leave supplement shall begin on the sixth calendar day from the date of the injury or illness which entitles the employee to benefits under RCW 51.32.090. For the purposes of this section, the day of inju…

The disability leave supplement provided by RCW 41.04.500 through 41.04.530 shall continue as long as the employee is receiving benefits under RCW 51.32.090, up to a maximum of six months from the date of the injury or illness.[ 1985 c 462 s 4.]Notes:Program and fiscal review—198…

While an employee is receiving disability leave supplement, the employee, subject to the approval of his or her treating physician, shall perform light duty tasks in the employee's previous department as the employer may require, with no reduction in the disability leave suppleme…

The disability leave supplement provided in RCW 41.04.510(3) shall not be considered salary or wages for personal services: PROVIDED, That the employee shall also continue to receive all insurance benefits provided in whole or in part by the employer, notwithstanding the fact tha…

If an employee's accrued sick leave is exhausted during the period of disability, the employee may, for a period of two months following return to active service, draw prospectively upon sick leave the employee is expected to accumulate up to a maximum of three days or three work…

Nothing in RCW 41.04.500 through 41.04.530 shall preclude employers of law enforcement officers and firefighters and such employees from entering into agreements which provide benefits to employees which are greater than those prescribed by RCW 41.04.500 through 41.04.530, nor is…

Cities and towns with a population of less than twenty-five hundred and counties with a population of less than ten thousand shall not be required to provide a disability leave supplement to their commissioned law enforcement officers and full-time paid firefighters who qualify f…

Chapter 462, Laws of 1985 neither grants employees a vested right to receive a disability leave supplement nor creates a contractual obligation on behalf of the state or its political subdivisions to provide a disability leave supplement.[ 1985 c 462 s 13.]Notes:Program and fisca…

Disability leave supplement payments for employees covered by chapter 462, Laws of 1985 shall not be subject to interest arbitration as defined in *RCW 41.56.075, 41.56.105, 41.56.139, 41.56.157, 41.56.407, 41.56.501 through 41.56.575, 41.56.900, and 41.56.905.[ 1985 c 462 s 14.]…

A municipality may by ordinance or resolution provide for redress to any municipal employee or the surviving spouse of a municipal employee who, due to the promulgation of federal Executive Order 9066, was dismissed, terminated from a temporary position, or rejected during the pe…

RCW 41.04.580 through 41.04.595 do not require a municipality to adopt an ordinance or resolution providing for redress of salary and other employment related losses.[ 1986 c 225 s 3.]Notes:Legislative findings—Severability—1986 c 225: See notes following RCW 41.04.580.

Under the system of redress authorized under RCW 41.04.580 through 41.04.595:(1) A municipality may determine in its sole discretion the monetary amount of redress for salary and other employment related losses, which may not exceed five thousand dollars for any undivided claim.(…

For the purposes of this chapter, "municipality" means a city, town, county, special purpose district, municipal corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, or political subdivision of the state of Washington. For the purposes of this chapter, a "municipal employee" means an employ…

The legislature finds that: (1) State employees historically have joined together to help their fellow employees who suffer from, or have relatives or household members suffering from, an extraordinary or severe illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition which p…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2411-S.SL) ***Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout RCW 41.04.650 through 41.04.670, 28A.400.380, and section 7, chapter 93, Laws of 1989.(1) "Domestic violence" means any of the following acts …

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2411-S.SL) ***The Washington state leave sharing program is hereby created. The purpose of the program is to permit state employees, at no significantly increased cost to the state of providing annual leave, sick leave, or personal holidays, to come to…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2411-S.SL) ***(1) An agency head may permit an employee to receive leave under this section if:(a)(i) The employee suffers from, or has a relative or household member suffering from, an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition which…

The office of financial management and other personnel authorities shall each adopt rules applicable to employees under their respective jurisdictions: (1) Establishing appropriate parameters for the program which are consistent with the provisions of RCW 41.04.650 through 41.04.…

(1) Parental leave received under RCW 41.04.665 must be used within the sixteen weeks immediately after birth or placement, except as provided in subsection (2) of this section.(2) If a person receiving parental leave also receives leave due to a pregnancy disability, the parenta…

(1) The veterans' in-state service shared leave pool is created to allow employees to donate leave to be used as shared leave for:(a) Veteran employees who meet the requirements of RCW 41.04.665; or(b) Spouses of veteran employees, who meet the requirements of RCW 41.04.665, who …

(1) The foster parent shared leave pool is created to allow employees to donate leave to be used as shared leave for any employee who is a foster parent needing to care for or preparing to accept a foster child in their home. Participation in the pool shall, at all times, be volu…

The office of financial management and other personnel authorities shall adopt rules or policies governing the accumulation and use of sick leave for state agency and department employees, expressly for the establishment of a plan allowing participating employees to pool sick lea…

(1) The uniformed service shared leave pool is created to allow employees to donate leave to be used as shared leave for any employee who has been called to service in the uniformed services and who meets the requirements of RCW 41.04.665. Participation in the pool shall, at all …

The legislature finds that:(1) Assisting employees in resolving personal problems that impair their performance will result in a more productive workforce, better morale, reduced stress, reduced use of medical benefits, reduced absenteeism, lower turnover rates, and fewer acciden…

The employee assistance program is hereby created to provide support and services to state employees who have personal problems that impair their performance in the workplace. The goal of the program is to help promote a safe, productive, and healthy state workforce by assisting …

The director of enterprise services shall:(1) Administer the state employee assistance program to assist employees who have personal problems that adversely affect their job performance or have the potential of doing so;(2) Develop policies, procedures, and activities for the pro…

Individual employees' participation in the employee assistance program and all individually identifiable information gathered in the process of conducting the program shall be held in strict confidence; except that agency management may be provided with the following information …

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise the definitions in this section apply throughout RCW 41.04.760 through 41.04.780.(1) "Developmental disability" means a disability as defined in RCW 71A.10.020.(2) "Significant disability" means a disability as defined in 29 U.S.C. Se…

State agencies are encouraged to participate in supported employment activities. The department of social and health services, in conjunction with the department of personnel and the office of financial management, shall identify agencies that have positions and funding conducive…

The department of social and health services and the department of enterprise services shall, after consultation with supported employment provider associations and other interested parties, encourage, educate, and assist state agencies in implementing supported employment progra…

The creation of supported employment positions under RCW 41.04.760 and 41.04.770 shall not count against an agency's allotted full-time equivalent employee positions. Supported employment programs are not intended to displace employees or abrogate any reduction-in-force rights.[ …

The provisions of this chapter shall not be applicable to the officers and employees of the nonprofit corporation formed under *chapter 67.40 RCW.[ 1984 c 210 s 5.]Notes:*Reviser's note: A majority of chapter 67.40 RCW was repealed by 2010 1st sp.s. c 15 s 14, effective November …

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2034-S2.SL) ***(1) Chapter 236, Laws of 2012 is curative and remedial and is applicable to any future determination of eligibility for membership in a retirement system under chapters 41.26, 41.32, 41.35, 41.37, and 41.40 RCW.(2) Chapter 236, Laws of 2…