Committee hears bill clarifying bargaining rights for language‑access contractors

Senate Bill 5,944 would make explicit that language access providers — independent contractors who supply spoken‑language interpretation to state agencies — may bargain over payments for missed or canceled appointments and that collective bargaining agreements prevail over conflicting executive orders or agency policies.

Jarrett Sacks, committee staff, said the scope of bargaining would be economic compensation, training, grievance procedures and other economic matters; the bill explicitly includes payments for missed appointments as part of the compensable items that can be negotiated. Sponsor Sen. Adrian Cortez said the measure does not change how interpreting services are delivered but ensures interpreters across agencies have a predictable process for bargaining compensation.

Kate Durkin of the Washington Federation of State Employees described the practical problem prompting the bill: interpreters working for LNI were told they could not bargain compensation for missed appointments while interpreters in other agencies could, creating inconsistent treatment. Unions asked the committee to support the bill to level the bargaining field and protect interpreters who provide critical services across state agencies.