OLYMPIA, Wash. — This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com
Washington lawmakers have approved legislation prohibiting employers from requiring workers to have microchips implanted in their bodies, a preemptive move to address a practice that does not yet exist in the United States.
House Bill 2303 passed the state Senate unanimously on Wednesday and now awaits Governor Bob Ferguson’s signature. The House approved the measure 87-6 last month. If signed, Washington would become the 14th state to ban mandatory workplace microchipping.
The legislation bars employers from requesting, requiring, or coercing employees or job applicants to receive subcutaneous microchip implants for any reason. Workers who face such demands could sue their employers and potentially recover actual damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees.
“I understand that the underlying policy might sound a little bit like science fiction, but we’ve all learned in this chamber that science moves fast,” Democrat Rep. Brianna Thomas, who sponsored the bill, stated.
She added, employees are telling their employers, “‘Don’t chip me, bro.’ And we have their back.”
Preemptive protection for WA employees
Thomas said the measure is meant to protect workers before the technology becomes widespread.
The bill defines a microchip as any device implanted beneath the skin that contains identification numbers or personal information that can be retrieved by external scanners. Medical devices used for the diagnosis, monitoring, or treatment of health conditions are explicitly exempted.
No U.S. companies currently require employees to be microchipped, but the technology exists. In 2018, Swedish company Biohax installed approximately 4,000 rice-sized chips that could store contact information and electronic tickets. A Wisconsin company, Three Square Market, offered voluntary implants to employees in 2017.
The legislation drew little opposition, with no one testifying against it during committee hearings in either chamber.
The bill’s preamble states that bodily autonomy is a fundamental right and that employers “should compete for talent through wages, benefits, and working conditions — not through invasive monitoring technologies.”
Manda Factor is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. Follow Manda on X and email her here.