Z-0150

AN ACT Relating to discrimination; amending RCW 49.60.030, 49.60.120, 49.60.205, 49.60.223, 49.60.224, 49.60.230, 49.60.240, 49.60.250, 49.44.090, and 70.124.060; and reenacting and amending RCW 49.60.040 and 49.60.215.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 49.60.030 and 1984 c 32 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The right to be free from discrimination because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical handicap is recognized as and declared to be a civil right. This right shall include, but not be limited to:

(a) The right to obtain and hold employment without discrimination;

(b) The right to the full enjoyment of any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement;

(d) The right to engage in credit transactions without discrimination;

(e) The right to engage in insurance transactions or transactions with health maintenance organizations without discrimination: PROVIDED, That a practice which is not unlawful under RCW 48.30.300, 48.44.220, or 48.46.370 does not constitute an unfair practice for the purposes of this subparagraph; and

(f) The right to engage in commerce free from any discriminatory boycotts or blacklists. Discriminatory boycotts or blacklists for purposes of this section shall be defined as the formation or execution of any express or implied agreement, understanding, policy or contractual arrangement for economic benefit between any persons which is not specifically authorized by the laws of the United States and which is required or imposed, either directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, by a foreign government or foreign person in order to restrict, condition, prohibit, or interfere with or in order to exclude any person or persons from any business relationship on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical handicap, or national origin or lawful business relationship: PROVIDED HOWEVER, That nothing herein contained shall prohibit the use of boycotts as authorized by law pertaining to labor disputes and unfair labor practices.

(2) Any person deeming himself or herself injured by any act in violation of this chapter shall have a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin further violations, to recover the actual damages sustained by ((~~him~~)) the person, or both, together with the cost of suit including a reasonable attorney's fees or any other remedy authorized by this chapter or the United States Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended; and

(3) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, any ((~~act~~)) unfair practice prohibited by this chapter ((~~related to sex discrimination~~)) or discriminatory boycotts or blacklists which is committed in the course of trade or commerce in the state of Washington as defined in the Consumer Protection Act, chapter 19.86 RCW, shall be deemed an unfair practice within the meaning of RCW 19.86.020 and 19.86.030 and subject to all the provisions of chapter 19.86 RCW as now or hereafter amended.

Sec. 2. RCW 49.60.040 and 1985 c 203 s 2 and 1985 c 185 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

As used in this chapter:

"Person" includes one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, organizations, corporations, cooperatives, legal representatives, trustees and receivers, or any group of persons; it includes any owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, agent, or employee, whether one or more natural persons; and further includes any political or civil subdivisions of the state and any agency or instrumentality of the state or of any political or civil subdivision thereof;

"Commission" means the Washington state human rights commission;

"Employer" includes any person acting in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, who employs eight or more persons, and does not include any religious or sectarian organization not organized for private profit;

"Employee" does not include any individual employed by his or her parents, spouse, or child, or in the domestic service of any person;

"Labor organization" includes any organization which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances or terms or conditions of employment, or for other mutual aid or protection in connection with employment;

"Employment agency" includes any person undertaking with or without compensation to recruit, procure, refer, or place employees for an employer;

"Marital status" means the legal status of being married, single, separated, divorced, or widowed;

"National origin" includes "ancestry";

"Full enjoyment of" includes the right to purchase any service, commodity, or article of personal property offered or sold on, or by, any establishment to the public, and the admission of any person to accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement, without acts directly or indirectly causing persons of any particular race, creed, color, sex, national origin, or with any sensory, mental, or physical handicap, or the use of a trained dog guide by a blind ((or)), deaf, or physically disabled person ((~~using a trained dog guide~~)), to be treated as not welcome, accepted, desired, or solicited;

"Any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement" includes, but is not limited to, any place, licensed or unlicensed, kept for gain, hire, or reward, or where charges are made for admission, service, occupancy, or use of any property or facilities, whether conducted for the entertainment, housing, or lodging of transient guests, or for the benefit, use, or accommodation of those seeking health, recreation, or rest, or for the burial or other disposition of human remains, or for the sale of goods, merchandise, services, or personal property, or for the rendering of personal services, or for public conveyance or transportation on land, water, or in the air, including the stations and terminals thereof and the garaging of vehicles, or where food or beverages of any kind are sold for consumption on the premises, or where public amusement, entertainment, sports, or recreation of any kind is offered with or without charge, or where medical service or care is made available, or where the public gathers, congregates, or assembles for amusement, recreation, or public purposes, or public halls, public elevators, and public washrooms of buildings and structures occupied by two or more tenants, or by the owner and one or more tenants, or any public library or educational institution, or schools of special instruction, or nursery schools, or day care centers or children's camps: PROVIDED, That nothing contained in this definition shall be construed to include or apply to any institute, bona fide club, or place of accommodation, which is by its nature distinctly private, including fraternal organizations, though where public use is permitted that use shall be covered by this chapter; nor shall anything contained in this definition apply to any educational facility, columbarium, crematory, mausoleum, or cemetery operated or maintained by a bona fide religious or sectarian institution;

"Real property" includes buildings, structures, real estate, lands, tenements, leaseholds, interests in real estate cooperatives, condominiums, and hereditaments, corporeal and incorporeal, or any interest therein;

"Real estate transaction" includes the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or lease of real property;

"Sex" means gender((.));

"Credit transaction" includes any open or closed end credit transaction, whether in the nature of a loan, retail installment transaction, credit card issue or charge, or otherwise, and whether for personal or for business purposes, in which a service, finance, or interest charge is imposed, or which provides for repayment in scheduled payments, when such credit is extended in the regular course of any trade or commerce, including but not limited to transactions by banks, savings and loan associations or other financial lending institutions of whatever nature, stock brokers, or by a merchant or mercantile establishment which as part of its ordinary business permits or provides that payment for purchases of property or service therefrom may be deferred.

Sec. 3. RCW 49.60.120 and 1985 c 185 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:

The commission shall have the functions, powers and duties:

(1) To appoint an executive ((~~secretary~~)) director and chief examiner, and such investigators, examiners, clerks, and other employees and agents as it may deem necessary, fix their compensation within the limitations provided by law, and prescribe their duties.

(2) To obtain upon request and utilize the services of all governmental departments and agencies.

(3) To adopt, promulgate, amend, and rescind suitable rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this chapter, and the policies and practices of the commission in connection therewith.

(4) To receive, investigate, and pass upon complaints alleging unfair practices as defined in this chapter.

(5) To issue such publications and such results of investigations and research as in its judgment will tend to promote good will and minimize or eliminate discrimination because of sex, race, creed, color, national origin, marital status, age, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical handicap, or the use of a trained dog guide by a blind, deaf, or physically disabled person.

(6) To make such technical studies as are appropriate to effectuate the purposes and policies of this chapter and to publish and distribute the reports of such studies.

(7) To cooperate and act jointly or by division of labor with the United States or other states, with other Washington state agencies, commissions, and other government entities, and with political subdivisions of the state of Washington and their respective human rights agencies to carry out the purposes of this chapter. However, the powers which may be exercised by the commission under this subsection permit investigations and complaint dispositions only if the investigations are designed to reveal, or the complaint deals only with, allegations which, if proven, would constitute unfair practices under this chapter. The commission may perform such services for these agencies and be reimbursed therefor.

(8) To foster good relations between minority and majority population groups of the state through seminars, conferences, educational programs, and other intergroup relations activities.

Sec. 4. RCW 49.60.205 and 1985 c 185 s 28 are each amended to read as follows:

No person shall be considered to have committed an unfair practice on the basis of age discrimination unless the practice ((~~discriminates against a person between the age of forty and seventy years and~~)) violates RCW 49.44.090. It is a defense to any complaint of an unfair practice of age discrimination that the practice does not violate RCW 49.44.090.

Sec. 5. RCW 49.60.215 and 1985 c 203 s 1 and 1985 c 90 s 6 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

It shall be an unfair practice for any person or ((~~his~~)) the person's agent or employee to commit an act which directly or indirectly results in any distinction, restriction, or discrimination, or the requiring of any person to pay a larger sum than the uniform rates charged other persons, or the refusing or withholding from any person the admission, patronage, custom, presence, frequenting, dwelling, staying, or lodging in any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement, except for conditions and limitations established by law and applicable to all persons, regardless of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical handicap, or the use of a trained dog guide by a blind, deaf, or physically disabled person: PROVIDED, That this section shall not be construed to require structural changes, modifications, or additions to make any place accessible to a handicapped person except as otherwise required by law: PROVIDED, That behavior or actions constituting a risk to property or other persons can be grounds for refusal and shall not constitute an unfair practice.

Sec. 6. RCW 49.60.223 and 1979 c 127 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:

It is an unfair practice for any person, for profit, to induce or attempt to induce any person to sell or rent any real property by representations regarding the entry or prospective entry into the neighborhood of a person or persons of a particular race, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, or with any sensory, mental, or physical handicap.

Sec. 7. RCW 49.60.224 and 1979 c 127 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Every provision in a written instrument relating to real property which purports to forbid or restrict the conveyance, encumbrance, occupancy, or lease thereof to individuals of a specified race, creed, color, national origin, or with any sensory, mental, or physical handicap, or the use of a trained dog guide by a blind, deaf, or physically disabled person, and every condition, restriction, or prohibition, including a right of entry or possibility of reverter, which directly or indirectly limits the use or occupancy of real property on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, ((or)) sex, marital status, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical handicap, or the use of a trained dog guide dog by a blind, deaf, or physically disabled person is void.

(2) It is an unfair practice to insert in a written instrument relating to real property a provision that is void under this section or to honor or attempt to honor such a provision in the chain of title.

Sec. 8. RCW 49.60.230 and 1985 c 185 s 21 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Who may file a complaint:

((~~(1)~~)) (a) Any person claiming to be aggrieved by an alleged unfair practice may, personally or by his or her attorney, make, sign, and file with the commission a complaint in writing under oath or by declaration. The complaint shall state the name ((~~and address~~)) of the person alleged to have committed the unfair practice and the particulars thereof, and contain such other information as may be required by the commission.

((~~(2)~~)) (b) Whenever it has reason to believe that any person has been engaged or is engaging in an unfair practice, the commission may issue a

complaint.

((~~(3)~~)) (c) Any employer or principal whose employees, or agents, or any of them, refuse or threaten to refuse to comply with the provisions of this chapter may file with the commission a written complaint under oath or by declaration asking for assistance by conciliation or other remedial action.

(2) Any complaint filed pursuant to this section must be so filed within six months after the alleged act of discrimination.

Sec. 9. RCW 49.60.240 and 1985 c 185 s 22 are each amended to read as follows:

After the filing of any complaint, the chairperson of the commission shall refer it to the appropriate section of the commission's staff for prompt investigation and ascertainment of the facts alleged in the complaint. The investigation shall be limited to the alleged facts contained in the complaint. The results of the investigation shall be reduced to written findings of fact, and a finding shall be made that there is or that there is not reasonable cause for believing that an unfair practice has been or is being committed. A copy of said findings shall be ((~~furnished~~)) provided to the complainant and to the person named in such complaint, hereinafter referred to as the respondent.

If the finding is made that there is reasonable cause for believing that an unfair practice has been or is being committed, the commission's staff shall immediately endeavor to eliminate the unfair practice by conference, conciliation and persuasion.

If an agreement is reached for the elimination of such unfair practice as a result of such conference, conciliation and persuasion, the agreement shall be reduced to writing and signed by the respondent, and an order shall be entered by the commission setting forth the terms of said agreement. No order shall be entered by the commission at this stage of the proceedings except upon such written agreement.

If no such agreement can be reached, a finding to that effect shall be made and reduced to writing, with a copy thereof ((~~furnished~~)) provided to the complainant and the respondent.

Sec. 10. RCW 49.60.250 and 1989 c 175 s 115 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) In case of failure to reach an agreement for the elimination of such unfair practice, and upon the entry of findings to that effect, the entire file, including the complaint and any and all findings made, shall be certified to the chairperson of the commission. The chairperson of the commission shall thereupon request the appointment of an administrative law judge under Title 34 RCW to hear the complaint and shall cause to be issued and served in the name of the commission a written notice, together with a copy of the complaint, as the same may have been amended, requiring the respondent to answer the charges of the complaint at a hearing before the administrative law judge, at a time and place to be specified in such notice.

(2) The place of any such hearing may be the office of the commission or another place designated by it. The case in support of the complaint shall be presented at the hearing by counsel for the commission: PROVIDED, That the complainant may retain independent counsel and submit testimony and be fully heard. No member or employee of the commission who previously made the investigation or caused the notice to be issued shall participate in the hearing except as a witness, nor shall the member or employee participate in the deliberations of the administrative law judge in such case. Any endeavors or negotiations for conciliation shall not be received in evidence.

(3) The respondent shall file a written answer to the complaint and appear at the hearing in person or otherwise, with or without counsel, and submit testimony and be fully heard. The respondent has the right to cross-examine the complainant.

(4) The administrative law judge conducting any hearing may permit reasonable amendment to any complaint or answer. Testimony taken at the hearing shall be under oath and recorded.

(5) If, upon all the evidence, the administrative law judge finds that the respondent has engaged in any unfair practice, the administrative law judge shall state findings of fact and shall issue and file with the commission and cause to be served on such respondent an order requiring such respondent to cease and desist from such unfair practice and to take such affirmative action, including, (but not limited to) hiring, reinstatement or upgrading of employees, with or without back pay, an admission or restoration to full membership rights in any respondent organization, or to take such other action as, in the judgment of the administrative law judge, will effectuate the purposes of this chapter, including action that could be ordered by a court, except that damages for humiliation and mental suffering shall not exceed ((~~one~~)) thirty-five thousand dollars, and including a requirement for report of the matter on compliance.

(6) The final order of the administrative law judge shall include a notice to the parties of the right to obtain judicial review of the order by appeal in accordance with the provisions of RCW 34.05.510 through 34.05.598, and that such appeal must be served and filed within thirty days after the service of the order on the parties.

(7) If, upon all the evidence, the administrative law judge finds that the respondent has not engaged in any alleged unfair practice, the administrative law judge shall state findings of fact and shall similarly issue and file an order dismissing the complaint.

(8) An order dismissing a complaint may include an award of reasonable attorneys' fees in favor of the respondent if the administrative law judge concludes that the complaint was frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless.

(9) The commission shall establish rules of practice to govern, expedite, and effectuate the foregoing procedure.

Sec. 11. RCW 49.44.090 and 1985 c 185 s 30 are each amended to read as follows:

It shall be an unfair practice:

(1) For an employer or licensing agency, because an individual is ((~~between the ages of~~)) forty ((~~and seventy~~)) years of age or older, to refuse to hire or employ or license or to bar or to terminate from employment such individual, or to discriminate against such individual in promotion, compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment: PROVIDED, That employers or licensing agencies may establish reasonable minimum and/or maximum age limits with respect to candidates for positions of employment, which positions are of such a nature as to require extraordinary physical effort, endurance, condition or training, subject to the approval of the executive secretary of the Washington state human rights commission or the director of labor and industries through the division of industrial relations.

(2) For any employer, licensing agency or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any statement, advertisement, or publication, or to use any form of application for employment or to make any inquiry in connection with prospective employment, which expresses any limitation, specification or discrimination respecting individuals ((~~between the ages of~~)) forty ((~~and seventy~~)) years of age or older: PROVIDED, That nothing herein shall forbid a requirement of disclosure of birth date upon any form of application for employment or by the production of a birth certificate or other sufficient evidence of the applicant's true age after an employee is hired.

Nothing contained in this section or in RCW 49.60.180 as to age shall be construed to prevent the termination of the employment of any person who is physically unable to perform his duties or to affect the retirement policy or system of any employer where such policy or system is not merely a subterfuge to evade the purposes of this section; nor shall anything in this section or in RCW 49.60.180 be deemed to preclude the varying of insurance coverages according to an employee's age; nor shall this section be construed as applying to any state, county, or city law enforcement agencies, or as superseding any law fixing or authorizing the establishment of reasonable minimum or maximum age limits with respect to candidates for certain positions in public employment which are of such a nature as to require extraordinary physical effort, or which for other reasons warrant consideration of age factors.

Sec. 12. RCW 70.124.060 and 1981 c 174 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A person participating in good faith in the making of a report pursuant to this chapter, or testifying as to alleged patient abuse or neglect in a judicial proceeding, shall in so doing be immune from any liability, civil or criminal, arising out of such reporting or testifying under any law of this state or its political subdivisions, and if such person is an employee of a nursing home or state hospital it shall be an unfair practice under chapter 49.60 RCW for the employer to ((~~dismiss said~~)) discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against the employee for such activity.

(2) Conduct conforming with the reporting requirements of this chapter shall not be deemed a violation of the confidential communication privilege of RCW 5.60.060 (3) or (4) or 18.83.110. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as to supersede or abridge remedies provided in chapter 4.92 RCW.