On February 20, 2026, the Washington State Senate advanced House Bill 2471 (“HB 2471”), a proposed law that would authorize the state to regulate certain private-sector labor disputes if the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) ceases to preempt state regulation or if the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) stops asserting jurisdiction over private sector employment currently subject to federal labor law. With this bill, Washington State is seeking to join other states that have sought to regulate private sector employment if the NLRB’s jurisdiction recedes under the current administration.

Background

Under the NLRA, the NLRB generally exercises exclusive jurisdiction over most private-sector labor disputes. Washington’s Public Employment Relations Commission (“PERC”) oversees public-sector labor relations in the state.

Washington’s HB 2471 is part of a recent spate of “trigger bills” in states that establish procedures for union recognition, collective bargaining, and litigation of unfair labor practice charges, among other things, if the NLRB loses jurisdiction over private-sector employers.

As reported here and here, Washington’s bill follows similar efforts in other states. New York enacted a trigger bill that would have expanded the jurisdiction of its Public Employment Relations Board to cover most private-sector employers ordinarily covered by the NLRA. California likewise enacted AB 288, dramatically expanding its state labor board’s powers over employees...

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