H-0781.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 1553
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 53rd Legislature 1993 Regular Session
By Representatives King, Heavey, R. Meyers, Appelwick, Peery, Conway, Leonard, Ogden, R. Fisher, Orr, Scott, Veloria, Brough, Hansen, Wang, Johanson and Quall
Read first time 02/01/93. Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.
AN ACT Relating to employee privacy; and adding new sections to chapter 49.44 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 49.44 RCW to read as follows:
(1) It is unlawful for an employer to refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise disadvantage any individual, with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of lawful conduct in which the individual engages off the premises of the employer during nonworking hours. This subsection in no way limits the employer's ability to require individual compliance with applicable laws or policies regulating that lawful conduct in which the individual engages on the premises of the employer during working hours.
(2) It is not unlawful or an unfair employment practice under this section for an employer to offer, impose, or have in effect a health, disability, or life insurance policy that makes distinctions between employees for the type of coverage or the coverage based upon the lawful conduct that the employees engage in if:
(a) Differential premium rates charged employees reflect a differential cost to the employer; and
(b) The employer provides employees with a written statement delineating differential rates used by insurance carriers.
(3) It is not unlawful or an unfair employment practice under this section for an employer to refuse to hire, to discharge, or otherwise disadvantage an individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment if that decision is based on:
(a) The individual's failure to meet job-related standards;
(b) An employer's legitimate conflict of interest policy reasonably designed to protect the employer's trade secrets, proprietary information, or other proprietary interests; or
(c) The employer's drug and alcohol free workplace program, including those adopted in response to federal requirements.
(4) The court shall award the prevailing party in an action under this section court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.
(5) The remedy for any individual claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of this section is a civil action for damages for all wages and benefits deprived the individual by reason of the violation.
(6) An individual aggrieved by a violation of this section must file the civil action within six months after the alleged unlawful or unfair employment practice or the discovery of that practice.
(7) This section does not apply if the language of an applicable collective bargaining agreement specifically addresses employees' lawful conduct off the premises of the employer during nonworking hours.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 49.44 RCW to read as follows:
Nothing in section 1 of this act precludes a religious or health organization whose tenets prohibit the otherwise lawful conduct or a company or nonprofit organization whose primary purpose is the prevention of heart and lung disease from refusing to employ an individual who engages in otherwise lawful conduct.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.
--- END ---