BILL REQ. #:  H-1230.1 

Read first time 01/28/11.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to employer liability under the doctrine of respondeat superior; adding a new section to chapter 4.24 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that the decision of the supreme court in Rahman v. State creates an unreasonable standard for employers by imposing liability for actions of employees in circumstances that are beyond the ability of employers to control. An employee is not acting within the scope of his or her employment when the employee, without actual, implied, or apparent authority, transports a passenger or invites a passenger to ride in a vehicle being used for the employer's purposes. The legislature intends by this act to overrule the holding in Rahman v. State that an employer is liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior for negligent acts of its employees that result in injuries to unauthorized occupants of vehicles used for the employer's purposes.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 4.24 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) An employer is not liable for civil damages under the doctrine of respondeat superior for the negligence of its employees or agents resulting from the operation of an employer vehicle, for injuries to a third party who occupies or operates the vehicle, if the employee or agent permitted the third party to occupy or operate the vehicle either in violation of any express policy, rule, order, or other instruction of the employer, or without the express or implied authorization of the employer. This section applies even where the conduct that immediately caused the harm is within the scope of the employee's employment.
     (2) For the purposes of this section:
     (a) "Employer" means any employer, including private employers, the state, and political subdivisions of the state.
     (b) "Employer vehicle" means a vehicle owned, leased, or rented, or otherwise used by or for the benefit of the employer, and includes employee-owned or other private vehicles when such vehicle is operated for the express benefit of the employer.
     (c) "Third party" means a person who is not an employee or agent of the employer.