FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patrick Connor, Washington State Director, patrick.connor@nfib.org,
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, anthony.malandra@nfib.org

OLYMPIA, Wash., Feb. 21, 2025—Senate Bill 5578 and House Bill 1764, companion bills that sought to increase the state’s minimum wage to $25 an hour by 2031, require all employers to provide a minimum of three weeks paid vacation plus five days paid bereavement leave, failed to advance from their respective labor committees by today’s policy deadline.

“Small businesses can breathe a sigh of relief that the minimum-wage bills failed to advance,” said Patrick Connor, state director for NFIB in Washington, “but the fight is not over. It’s a good sign the sponsors and committee chairs responsible for these bills realize now is not the right time to advance them; however, small business owners across the state need to stay vigilant. These bills will be back in some form — whether it’s during a special session this year, or in the 2026 session, we know Labor and their progressive backers in the Legislature will not stop as long as they maintain lopsided majorities in both chambers.”

Connor credited NFIB’s small-business members for their overwhelming legislative engagement, which played a big role in beating back the measures. NFIB members across the state responded to the call-to-action, contacting every single state legislator, articulating the dire impact to their operations this legislation would cause.

Keep up with the latest Washington state small-business news at www.nfib.com or on X @NFIB_WA or on Facebook @NFIB.WA

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For more than 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.

NFIB Washington
111 – 21st Avenue Southwest
Olympia, WA 98501
360-786-8675
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Twitter: @NFIB_WA
Facebook: @NFIB.WA