AN ACT Relating to
expanding the state law against discrimination; amending RCW 49.60.010 and
49.60.260; reenacting and amending RCW 49.60.040, 49.60.222, 49.60.225, and
49.60.240; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 49.60.010 and 1993 c
510 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
This chapter shall be
known as the "law against discrimination". It is an exercise of the
police power of the state for the protection of the public welfare, health, and
peace of the people of this state, and in fulfillment of the provisions of the
Constitution of this state concerning civil rights. The legislature hereby
finds and declares that practices of discrimination against any of its
inhabitants because of race, creed, color, national origin, families with
children, sex, marital status, age, or the presence of any sensory, mental,
or physical disability or the use of a trained guide dog or service dog by a
disabled person are a matter of state concern, that such discrimination
threatens not only the rights and proper privileges of its inhabitants but
menaces the institutions and foundation of a free democratic state. A state
agency is herein created with powers with respect to elimination and prevention
of discrimination in employment, in credit and insurance transactions, in
places of public resort, accommodation, or amusement, and in real property
transactions because of race, creed, color, national origin, families with
children, sex, marital status, age, or the presence of any sensory, mental,
or physical disability or the use of a trained guide dog or service dog by a
disabled person; and the commission established hereunder is hereby given
general jurisdiction and power for such purposes.
Sec. 2. RCW 49.60.040 and 1993 c
510 s 4 and 1993 c 69 s 3 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
As used in this
chapter:
(1) "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;
(2)
"Commission" means the Washington state human rights commission;
(3)
"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;
(4)
"Employee" does not include any individual employed by his or her
parents, spouse, or child, or in the domestic service of any person;
(5) "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;
(6) "Employment
agency" includes any person undertaking with or without compensation to
recruit, procure, refer, or place employees for an employer;
(7) "Marital
status" means the legal status of being married, single, separated,
divorced, or widowed;
(8) "National
origin" includes "ancestry";
(9) "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 disability, or the use of a trained guide dog or
service dog by a disabled person, to be treated as not welcome, accepted,
desired, or solicited;
(10) "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;
(11) "Real
property" includes buildings, structures, dwellings, real estate, lands,
tenements, leaseholds, interests in real estate cooperatives, condominiums, and
hereditaments, corporeal and incorporeal, or any interest therein;
(12) "Real estate
transaction" includes the sale, appraisal, brokering, exchange, purchase,
rental, or lease of real property, transacting or applying for a real estate loan,
or the provision of brokerage services;
(13)
"Dwelling" means any building, structure, or portion thereof that is
occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence by one or
more families, and any vacant land that is offered for sale or lease for the
construction or location thereon of any such building, structure, or portion
thereof;
(14) "Sex"
means gender;
(15) "Aggrieved
person" means any person who: (a) Claims to have been injured by an
unfair practice in a real estate transaction; or (b) believes that he or she
will be injured by an unfair practice in a real estate transaction that is
about to occur;
(16)
"Complainant" means the person who files a complaint in a real estate
transaction;
(17) "Respondent"
means any person accused in a complaint or amended complaint of an unfair
practice in a real estate transaction;
(18)
"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;
(((18))) (19)
"Families with children status" means ((when)) one or more
individuals who have not attained the age of eighteen years ((is)) being
domiciled with a parent or another person having legal custody of such
individual or individuals, or with the designee of such parent or other person
having such legal custody, with the written permission of such parent or other
person. Families with children status also applies to any person who is
pregnant or is in the process of securing legal custody ((or guardianship))
of any individual who has not attained the age of eighteen years;
(20) "Covered
multifamily dwelling" means: (a) Buildings consisting of four or more
dwelling units if such buildings have one or more elevators; and (b) ground
floor dwelling units in other buildings consisting of four or more dwelling
units;
(21)
"Premises" means the interior or exterior spaces, parts, components,
or elements of a building, including individual dwelling units and the public
and common use areas of a building.
Sec. 3. RCW 49.60.222 and 1993 c
510 s 17 and 1993 c 69 s 5 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1) It is an unfair practice
for any person, whether acting for himself, herself, or another, because of
sex, marital status, race, creed, color, national origin, families with
children status, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability,
or the use of a trained guide dog or service dog by a disabled person:
(a) To refuse to engage
in a real estate transaction with a person;
(b) To discriminate
against a person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of a real estate
transaction or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection
therewith;
(c) To refuse to
receive or to fail to transmit a bona fide offer to engage in a real estate
transaction from a person;
(d) To refuse to
negotiate for a real estate transaction with a person;
(e) To represent to a
person that real property is not available for inspection, sale, rental, or
lease when in fact it is so available, or to fail to bring a property listing
to his or her attention, or to refuse to permit the person to inspect real
property;
(f) To discriminate in
the sale or rental, or to otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling,
to any person ((because of a disability of that person,)); or to
a person residing in or intending to reside in that dwelling after it is sold,
rented, or made ((unavailable)) available; or to any
person associated with the person buying or renting;
(g) To make, print,
circulate, post, or mail, or cause to be so made or published a statement,
advertisement, or sign, or to use a form of application for a real estate
transaction, or to make a record or inquiry in connection with a prospective
real estate transaction, which indicates, directly or indirectly, an intent to
make a limitation, specification, or discrimination with respect thereto;
(h) To offer, solicit,
accept, use, or retain a listing of real property with the understanding that a
person may be discriminated against in a real estate transaction or in the
furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith;
(i) To expel a person
from occupancy of real property;
(j) To discriminate in
the course of negotiating, executing, or financing a real estate transaction
whether by mortgage, deed of trust, contract, or other instrument imposing a
lien or other security in real property, or in negotiating or executing any
item or service related thereto including issuance of title insurance, mortgage
insurance, loan guarantee, or other aspect of the transaction. Nothing in this
section shall limit the effect of RCW 49.60.176 relating to unfair practices in
credit transactions; or
(k) To attempt to do
any of the unfair practices defined in this section.
(2) For the purposes of
this chapter discrimination based on the presence of any sensory, mental, or
physical disability or the use of a trained guide dog or service dog by a
blind, deaf, or physically disabled person includes:
(a) A refusal to
permit, at the expense of the disabled person, reasonable modifications of
existing ((dwelling)) premises occupied or to be occupied by such
person if such modifications may be necessary to afford such person full
enjoyment of the dwelling, except that, in the case of a rental, the landlord
may, where it is reasonable to do so, condition permission for a modification
on the renter agreeing to restore the interior of the dwelling to the condition
that existed before the modification, reasonable wear and tear excepted;
(b) To refuse to make
reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices, or services when such
accommodations may be necessary to afford a person with the presence of any
sensory, mental, or physical disability and/or the use of a trained guide dog or
service dog by a blind, deaf, or physically disabled person equal opportunity
to use and enjoy a dwelling; or
(c) To fail to design
and construct covered multifamily dwellings and premises in
conformance with the federal fair housing amendments act of 1988 (42 U.S.C.
Sec. 3601 et seq.) and all other applicable laws or regulations pertaining to
access by persons with any sensory, mental, or physical disability or use of a
trained guide dog or service dog. Whenever the requirements of applicable laws
or regulations differ, the requirements which require greater accessibility for
persons with any sensory, mental, or physical disability shall govern.
((For purposes of
this subsection (2), "dwelling" means any building, structure, or
portion thereof that is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as,
a residence by four or more families, and any vacant land that is offered for
sale or lease for the construction or location thereon of any such building,
structure, or portion thereof.))
Nothing in (a) or
(b) of this subsection shall apply to: (i) a single-family house rented or
leased by the owner if the owner does not own or have an interest in the
proceeds of the rental or lease of more than three such single-family houses at
one time, the rental or lease occurred without the use of a real estate broker
or salesperson, as defined in RCW 18.85.010, and the rental or lease occurred
without the publication, posting, or mailing of any advertisement, sign, or
statement in violation of subsection (1)(g) of this section; or (ii) rooms or
units in dwellings containing living quarters occupied or intended to be
occupied by no more than four families living independently of each other if
the owner maintains and occupies one of the rooms or units as his or her
residence.
(3) Notwithstanding any
other provision of this chapter, it shall not be an unfair practice or a denial
of civil rights for any public or private educational institution to separate
the sexes or give preference to or limit use of dormitories, residence halls,
or other student housing to persons of one sex or to make distinctions on the
basis of marital or families with children status.
(4) Except pursuant to
subsection (2)(a) of this section, this section shall not be construed to
require structural changes, modifications, or additions to make facilities
accessible to a disabled person except as otherwise required by law. Nothing
in this section affects the rights, responsibilities, and remedies of landlords
and tenants pursuant to chapter 59.18 or 59.20 RCW, including the right to post
and enforce reasonable rules of conduct and safety for all tenants and their
guests, provided that chapters 59.18 and 59.20 RCW are only affected to the
extent they are inconsistent with the nondiscrimination requirements of this
chapter. Nothing in this section limits the applicability of any reasonable
federal, state, or local restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants
permitted to occupy a dwelling.
(5) Notwithstanding any
other provision of this chapter, it shall not be an unfair practice for any
public establishment providing for accommodations offered for the full
enjoyment of transient guests as defined by RCW 9.91.010(1)(c) to make
distinctions on the basis of families with children status. Nothing in this
section shall limit the effect of RCW 49.60.215 relating to unfair practices in
places of public accommodation.
(6) Nothing in this
chapter prohibiting discrimination based on families with children status
applies to housing for older persons as defined by the federal fair housing
amendments act of 1988, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 3607(b)(1) through (3). Nothing in this
chapter authorizes requirements for housing for older persons different than
the requirements in the federal fair housing amendments act of 1988, 42 U.S.C.
Sec 3607(b)(1) through (3).
Sec. 4. RCW 49.60.225 and 1993 c
510 s 20 and 1993 c 69 s 9 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1) When a reasonable
cause determination has been made under RCW 49.60.240 that an unfair practice
in a real estate transaction has been committed and a finding has been made
that the respondent has engaged in any unfair practice under RCW 49.60.250, the
administrative law judge shall promptly issue an order for such relief suffered
by the aggrieved person as may be appropriate, which may include actual damages
as provided by ((Title VIII of the United States civil rights act of 1964,
as amended, and)) the federal fair housing amendments act of 1988 (42
U.S.C. Sec. 3601 et seq.), and injunctive or other equitable relief. Such
order may, to further the public interest, assess a civil penalty against the
respondent:
(a) In an amount up to
ten thousand dollars if the respondent has not been determined to have committed
any prior unfair practice in a real estate transaction;
(b) In an amount up to
twenty-five thousand dollars if the respondent has been determined to have
committed one other unfair practice in a real estate transaction during the
five-year period ending on the date of the filing of this charge; or
(c) In an amount up to
fifty thousand dollars if the respondent has been determined to have committed
two or more unfair practices in a real estate transaction during the seven-year
period ending on the date of the filing of this charge, for loss of the right
secured by RCW 49.60.010, 49.60.030, 49.60.040, and 49.60.222 through
49.60.224, as now or hereafter amended, to be free from discrimination in real
property transactions because of sex, marital status, race, creed, color,
national origin, families with children status, or the presence of any sensory,
mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained guide dog or service dog
by a blind, deaf, or physically disabled person. Enforcement of the order and
appeal therefrom by the complainant or respondent may be made as provided in
RCW 49.60.260 and 49.60.270. If acts constituting the unfair practice in a
real estate transaction that is the object of the charge are determined to have
been committed by the same natural person who has been previously determined to
have committed acts constituting an unfair practice in a real estate
transaction, then the civil penalty of up to fifty thousand dollars may be
imposed without regard to the period of time within which any subsequent unfair
practice in a real estate transaction occurred. All civil penalties assessed
under this section shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the
general fund.
(2) Such order shall
not affect any contract, sale, conveyance, encumbrance, or lease consummated
before the issuance of an order that involves a bona fide purchaser,
encumbrancer, or tenant who does not have actual notice of the charge filed
under this chapter.
(3) Notwithstanding any
other provision of this chapter, persons awarded damages under this section may
not receive additional damages pursuant to RCW 49.60.250.
Sec. 5. RCW 49.60.240 and 1993 c
510 s 22 and 1993 c 69 s 12 are each reenacted and 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
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,
except that during the period beginning with the filing of complaints alleging
an unfair practice with respect to real estate transactions pursuant to RCW
49.60.222 through 49.60.225, and ending with the filing of a finding of
reasonable cause or a dismissal by the commission, the commission staff shall,
to the extent feasible, engage in conciliation with respect to such complaint.
Any conciliation agreement arising out of conciliation efforts by the
commission shall be an agreement between the respondent and the complainant and
shall be subject to the approval of the commission. Each conciliation
agreement shall be made public unless the complainant and respondent otherwise
agree and the commission determines that disclosure is not required to further
the purposes of this chapter.
If no such agreement
can be reached, a finding to that effect shall be made and reduced to writing,
with a copy thereof provided to the complainant and the respondent.
The commission may
adopt rules, including procedural time requirements, for processing complaints
alleging an unfair practice with respect to real estate transactions pursuant
to RCW 49.60.222 through 49.60.225 and which may be consistent with the federal
fair housing amendments act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 3601 et seq.), but which in
no case shall exceed or be more restrictive than the requirements or standards
of such act.
Sec. 6. RCW 49.60.260 and 1993 c
69 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The commission or
any person entitled to relief of a final order may petition the court
within the county wherein any unfair practice occurred or wherein any person
charged with an unfair practice resides or transacts business for the
enforcement of any final order which is not complied with and is issued by the
commission or an administrative law judge under the provisions of this chapter
and for appropriate temporary relief or a restraining order, and shall certify
and file in court the final order sought to be enforced. Within five days
after filing such petition in court, the commission or any person entitled
to relief of a final order shall cause a notice of the petition to be sent
by certified mail to all parties or their representatives.
(2) If within sixty
days after the date the administrative law judge's order concerning an unfair
practice in a real estate transaction is entered, no petition has been filed
under subsection (1) of this section and the commission has not sought
enforcement of the final order under this section, any person entitled to
relief under the final order may petition for a decree enforcing the order in
the superior courts of the state of Washington for the county in which the
unfair practice in a real estate transaction under RCW 49.60.222 through
49.60.224 is alleged to have occurred.
(3) From the time the
petition is filed, the court shall have jurisdiction of the proceedings and of
the questions determined thereon, and shall have the power to grant such
temporary relief or restraining order as it deems just and suitable.
(4) If the petition
shows that there is a final order issued by the commission or administrative
law judge under RCW 49.60.240 or 49.60.250 and that the order has not been
complied with in whole or in part, the court shall issue an order directing the
person who is alleged to have not complied with the administrative order to
appear in court at a time designated in the order, not less than ten days from
the date thereof, and show cause why the administrative order should not be
enforced according to the terms. The commission or any person entitled to
relief of any final order shall immediately serve the noncomplying party with a
copy of the court order and the petition.
(5) The administrative
order shall be enforced by the court if the person does not appear, or if the
person appears and the court finds that:
(a) The order is
regular on its face;
(b) The order has not
been complied with; and
(c) The person's answer
discloses no valid reason why the order should not be enforced, or that the
reason given in the person's answer could have been raised by review under RCW
34.05.510 through 34.05.598, and the person has given no valid excuse for
failing to use that remedy.
(6) The jurisdiction of
the court shall be exclusive and its judgment and decree shall be final, except
that the same shall be subject to appellate review by the supreme court or the
court of appeals, on appeal, by either party, irrespective of the nature of the
decree or judgment. The review shall be taken and prosecuted in the same
manner and form and with the same effect as is provided in other cases.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
7. This act is necessary for
the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support
of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take
effect July 1, 1995.
