If you have employees who serve as volunteer firefighters, reserve police officers, or Civil Air Patrol members, RCW 49.12.460 may protect them from discipline or termination for taking leave to respond to fire alarms, emergency calls, or emergency service operations.

Listen: Just a Minute: WA Protections for Volunteer Emergency Service Providers

Statute summary — RCW 49.12.460:

• Who it covers: Volunteer firefighters, reserve police officers, and Civil Air Patrol members.
• Who must comply: Employers with 20 or more full-time equivalent employees in the previous year.
• What’s protected: Employers may not discipline or fire a covered employee because of leave taken to respond to, work at, or return from a fire alarm or emergency call (or, for Civil Air Patrol members, an emergency service operation). Leave taken for training or other non-emergency activities is not covered.
• Employee notice obligations: The employee’s leave must relate to an actual emergency response, not routine or non-emergency duties.
• Enforcement: A violation can be reported to the Director of L&I. If the Director finds a violation and the employer doesn’t reinstate the employee or withdraw the disciplinary action within 30 days, the employee may bring a civil action seeking reinstatement (with back pay, no loss of seniority/benefits, and removal of related material from the personnel file) or withdrawal of the disciplinary action.

Full statute text: [RCW 49.12.460 link]

*This information has been provided by Associated Industries. Should you have questions about how these requirements apply to your specific workforce or policies, please do not hesitate to contact MemberCare at [email protected] or by phone at (509) 777-2727. We are here to help you navigate these situations with both legal compliance and genuine care for your employees in mind.

Associated Industries Executive MemberCare team wants to remind employers of an employee’s right to use Paid Sick Leave benefits if they need to be absent from work, given current wildfire activity across Spokane County. Under Washington’s Paid Sick Leave law, employees are entitled to use accrued paid sick leave whenever a workplace, school, or daycare is closed by order of a public official for a health-related reason, or due to an emergency declaration by a local, state, or federal government official.

The team contacted the Department of Labor and Industries on August 3rd to clarify the use of PSL due to the current evacuation orders and state of emergency in Spokane County. The Department confirmed that this provision extends to wildfire evacuation orders, and advised that evacuations would be considered an emergency declaration and would include if the employee’s home, place of business, or school or daycare were within the evacuation area.

Employees are also entitled to use accrued PSL if they need to be out of the workplace due to the employee’s own mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, or that of a family member. This is a statutory entitlement rather than a discretionary employer benefit. Employers should ensure that requests to use paid sick leave under these circumstances are processed and approved consistent with this legal standard. The Department’s Policy Guidance on Paid Sick Lease, including use of PSL for emergency orders, can be found here: https://lni.wa.gov/workers-rights/_docs/esb1.pdf

We recommend the following practices as employers navigate this issue. When an evacuation order is a matter of public record, such as one issued and publicized by county emergency management, employers should not require employees to submit individual documentation, since the order itself can be independently verified through official public sources. Documentation should only be requested in situations where it is not otherwise clear whether an evacuation order applies to a specific employee, and any such request should never delay or impede an employee’s ability to evacuate safely.

Additionally, we recommend that supervisors and managers receive clear guidance on this topic to ensure consistent application across the organization, since inconsistent handling of leave requests during emergencies can create both morale concerns and legal exposure.

*This information has been provided by Associated Industries. Should you have questions about how these requirements apply to your specific workforce or policies, please do not hesitate to contact MemberCare at [email protected] or by phone at (509) 777-2727. We are here to help you navigate these situations with both legal compliance and genuine care for your employees in mind.

Resending this piece given current air quality conditions across the region:

Heat and Smoke Precautions for Outdoor Workers: 6/29/2026 Employer Alert

This covers practical guidance for employers with outdoor workforces as wildfire smoke and heat conditions persist.

*This information has been provided by Associated Industries. Should you have questions about how these requirements apply to your specific workforce or policies, please do not hesitate to contact MemberCare at [email protected] or by phone at (509) 777-2727. We are here to help you navigate these situations with both legal compliance and genuine care for your employees in mind.