NEWSROOM

The Washington State Labor Council managed to defeat legislation that was their own top priority during the 2009 legislative session.

Governor Christine Gregoire, Speaker of the House Frank Chopp, and Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown are no longer considering action on HB 1528 and SB 5446, known as the Worker Privacy Act, or more accurately, the Employer Gag Rule.

A joint statement from the three legislators read, “We are no longer considering action on House Bill 1528 and Senate Bill 5446, also known as the Worker Privacy Act. Immediately upon becoming aware of an email linking potential action on the bill to campaign contributions, bringing the bill forward was no longer an option. The email raises serious legal and ethical questions. The matter has been referred to the Washington State Patrol for investigation.”

This legislation would have prohibited companies from requiring employees to attend meetings or participate in activities related to political or religious matters, specifically labor issues and unionization.

Supporters of the bill view it as a bill to protect employees from being forced to attend meetings when topics such as union organizing are brought up. Opponents feel this bill infringed on first amendment rights of employers, and would likely be overturned in a court ruling, which has happened in similar cases.

The bill was backed by organized labor, and was almost universally opposed by the Washington business community, including the Association of Washington Business, the Washington Roundtable, as well as ABC.

This legislation is no longer under consideration by the legislature largely due to serious legal and ethical issues raised by email sent from an unnamed person within the Washington State Labor Council. The email read, in part, “Union leaders would send a message to the State Democratic party and to the Truman and Roosevelt funds from the House and Senate that ‘not another dime from labor’ until the Governor signs the Worker Privacy Act.”

Any link between potential action on a bill and campaign contributions is unethical, and depending on the circumstance, illegal. After an investigation, the Washington State Patrol found no violation in the law; however, the Washington Public Disclosure Commission, along with other agencies, may look into the matter further.

This bill also would have required an employer to post a notice of employee rights in a conspicuous place accessible to the employees at the employer’s place of business. Both proposals also would authorize employees whose rights have been violated to bring a civil-court action against their employer.