How Is This Bill Enforced
Verbatim statutory text on the left; plain-language analysis and a per-section checklist on the right. Numbered markers cross-link to the matching checklist row.
(4)(b) The use of technology, except as provided in section 3 of this act;
Section 1 amends the management-rights provision governing collective bargaining for employees of Washington institutions of higher education. The amendment separates "use of technology" from the enumerated management rights that are excluded from bargaining, and adds a cross-reference to Section 3 of the act, which creates a mandatory duty to bargain over AI technology decisions affecting wages or performance evaluations. The effect is to remove AI technology adoption from the blanket management-rights exclusion while preserving the exclusion for non-AI technology decisions.
(2) The use of technology, except as provided in section 4 of this act;
Section 2 makes a parallel amendment to the management-rights provision governing collective bargaining for state civil service employees under chapter 41.80 RCW. As with Section 1, this amendment separates "use of technology" into its own numbered subsection and adds a cross-reference to Section 4 of the act, which creates a mandatory duty to bargain over AI technology decisions affecting wages or performance evaluations. The structure mirrors Section 1 but applies to the state employer rather than institutions of higher education.
1 An employer shall bargain over the decision to adopt artificial intelligence technology or modify the current uses of artificial intelligence technology if the adoption or modification affects employees' wages or performance evaluations.
Section 3 creates the bill's core operative obligation for higher education employers. It requires an employer to bargain with the exclusive bargaining representative over the decision to adopt artificial intelligence technology — or modify current AI uses — whenever the adoption or modification affects employees' wages or performance evaluations. The trigger is functional: the bargaining obligation attaches not to every AI deployment, but only to those that touch compensation or evaluation. The provision does not define "artificial intelligence technology," leaving its scope to be resolved through bargaining or PERC proceedings.
2 An employer shall bargain over the decision to adopt artificial intelligence technology or modify the current uses of artificial intelligence technology if the adoption or modification affects employees' wages or performance evaluations.
Section 4 mirrors Section 3 but applies to state civil service employers under chapter 41.80 RCW rather than higher education institutions under chapter 41.56 RCW. The operative language is identical: the employer must bargain over the decision to adopt or modify AI technology when the adoption or modification affects employees' wages or performance evaluations.
Contracts in effect prior to the effective date of this section remain unaffected by sections 3 and 4 of this act until the contract expires or is renewed or reopened.
Section 5 is a savings clause grandfathering existing collective bargaining agreements. Contracts in effect before the act's effective date are unaffected by the new bargaining obligations in Sections 3 and 4 until those contracts expire, are renewed, or are reopened. This prevents the new AI bargaining requirement from disrupting mid-term agreements.