Employment Laws in Washington
Definition of employee. Employee does not include any individual employed by his or her parents, spouse or child or in the domestic service of any person.
Definition of employer. Employer includes any person acting in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, who has eight or more employees, but does not include any religious or sectarian nonprofit organization.
Prohibited employment discrimination. Unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification, an employer may not discriminate in its hiring or employment practices on the basis of a job applicant's age (40 or older), sex, marital status, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability or results of an HIV test.
Hepatitis C. Employers are prohibited from requiring a hepatitis C test as a condition of employment. Discrimination in employment on the basis of the results of a hepatitis C test is also prohibited. If there is a bona fide occupational qualification relating to the job in question, neither prohibition applies.
Genetic testing. Employers are prohibited from requiring that an employee or a prospective employee submit genetic information or submit to screening for genetic information as a condition of employment or continued employment.
Broadcasting industry noncompetition agreements. If an employee of a broadcasting industry employer, other than a sales or management employee, subject to an employee noncompetition agreement is terminated without just cause or laid off by action of the employer, the noncompetition agreement is void and unenforceable. The law does not restrict the right of an employer to protect trade secrets or proprietary information by lawful means in equity or under applicable law. In addition, the law does not terminate, or in any way modify, any rights or liabilities resulting from an employee's noncompetition agreement that was entered into before December 31, 2005.
Marty Smith law. Retaliation may not be taken against a mental health professional or crisis intervention worker who is responding to a private home or other private location to stabilize or treat a person in crisis, or to evaluate a person for potential detention, who refuses to go alone. The worker is entitled to have a trained individual accompany the worker.
Recordkeeping requirements. Employers may make and keep records of persons after they are employed, unless the records are used for the purpose of discrimination. To prevent improper use, records of an employee's protected status must be maintained in a manner accessible only on a need-to-know basis.
Posting requirements. Posters that excerpt Washington's prohibited discriminatory employment practices are available from the Washington State Human Rights Commission..
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