S-1608.1  _______________________________________________

                    SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5672

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on State & Local Government (originally sponsored by Senators Kline, Costa, Prentice, Fraser, Fairley, Shin, Kohl‑Welles, Haugen, Hargrove and McAuliffe)

Read first time 02/18/1999.

Retaliating against a whistleblower.

    AN ACT Relating to retaliatory action against a whistleblower; and amending RCW 42.40.050.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 42.40.050 and 1992 c 118 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Any person who is a whistleblower, as defined in RCW 42.40.020, and who ((as a result of being a whistleblower)) has been subjected to workplace reprisal or retaliatory action ((has)) is presumed to have established a cause of action for the remedies provided under chapter 49.60 RCW.  For the purpose of this section "reprisal or retaliatory action" means but is not limited to any of the following:

    (((1))) (a) Denial of adequate staff to perform duties;

    (((2))) (b) Frequent staff changes;

    (((3))) (c) Frequent and undesirable office changes;

    (((4))) (d) Refusal to assign meaningful work;

    (((5))) (e) Unwarranted and unsubstantiated letters of reprimand or unsatisfactory performance evaluations;

    (((6))) (f) Demotion;

    (((7))) (g) Reduction in pay;

    (((8))) (h) Denial of promotion;

    (((9))) (i) Suspension;

    (((10))) (j) Dismissal;

    (((11))) (k) Denial of employment; ((and))

    (((12))) (l) A supervisor or superior encouraging coworkers to behave in a hostile manner toward the whistleblower; and

(m) A change in the physical location of the employee or a change in the basic nature of the employee's job, if either are in opposition to the employee's expressed wish.

(2) The agency presumed to have taken retaliatory action under subsection (1) of this section may rebut that presumption by proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the agency action or actions were justified by reasons unrelated to the employee's status as a whistleblower.

(3) Nothing in this section prohibits an agency from making any decision exercising its authority to terminate, suspend, or discipline an employee who engages in workplace reprisal or retaliatory action against a whistleblower.  However, the agency also shall implement any order under chapter 49.60 RCW (other than an order of suspension if the agency has terminated the retaliator).

                            --- END ---