Bill that grants whistleblowers and others a private right-of-action to sue employers in the name of the state to be heard in the legislature this week.

HB 1076, sponsored by Rep. Drew Hansen (D–Bainbridge Island), permits whistleblowers, “aggrieved persons” (i.e. the person a violation harmed), representative organizations, and local governments to sue employers on behalf of the state for workplace violations (also referred to qui tam action). Plaintiffs may bring an action under several employment-related laws such as wage and gender equal pay laws, seasonal labor laws, and the state Industrial Safety and Health Act, among others. A representative organization or local government would need a whistleblower or aggrieved person to sign off on them bringing a case on their behalf.

Under the bill, qui tam actions cannot modify, revoke, or suspend a license, variance, or permit, and they can only be brought for health and safety reporting requirement violations. Actions cannot be brought if the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has already taken action on the workplace complaint. L&I is authorized to intervene in an ongoing qui tam action, and the bill specifically addresses the distribution of any civil penalties between the state and the plaintiff that won the case.

Currently, such workplace enforcement actions can only be brought forward by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) on behalf of L&I or the Human Rights Commission. Under HB 1076, a plaintiff can pursue any remedy that the state would be entitled to pursue. Prevailing plaintiffs would be entitled to attorney’s fees and costs. A plaintiff that brings a qui tam action is not precluded from bringing any private causes of action they may have against an employer.

The bill could affect cities in a couple ways. First, it would allow enforcement cases for workplace violations to be brought by employees, former employees, unions, law firms, etc. not just the state. Plaintiffs could recover attorney’s fees and costs if successful. This could raise litigation costs if cities need to defend an exceptionally large number of suits. On the other hand, cities could also act on behalf plaintiffs to bring qui tam actions and possibly split penalties and recover attorney’s fees themselves.

Rep. Hansen introduced a similar bill in the 2019 legislative session. That bill was voted out of committee but never made it out of the House.

A fun fact for those wondering about the origins of the term qui tam: according to Wikipedian>, it is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur, meaning “[he] who sues in this matter for the king as well as for himself.” Now you know.

Dates to remember

HB 1076 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee at 8 am on Friday, January 22.