Text of WA HB 1376 (2016)

AN ACT Relating to excluding an accommodation maintained by a 1 not-for-profit sectarian organization from the definition of "any 2 place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement"; and 3 reenacting and amending RCW 49.60.040. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON: 5 Sec. 1. RCW 49.60.040 and 2009 c 187 s 3 are each reenacted and 6 amended to read as follows: 7 The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter 8 unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 9 (1) "Aggrieved person" means any person who: (a) Claims to have 10 been injured by an unfair practice in a real estate transaction; or 11 (b) believes that he or she will be injured by an unfair practice in 12 a real estate transaction that is about to occur. 13 (2) "Any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or 14 amusement" includes, but is not limited to, any place, licensed or 15 unlicensed, kept for gain, hire, or reward, or where charges are made 16 for admission, service, occupancy, or use of any property or 17 facilities, whether conducted for the entertainment, housing, or 18 lodging of transient guests, or for the benefit, use, or 19 accommodation of those seeking health, recreation, or rest, or for 20 the burial or other disposition of human remains, or for the sale of 21 H-0477.1 HOUSE BILL 1376 State of Washington 64th Legislature 2015 Regular Session By Representatives Shea, Holy, and McCaslin Read first time 01/19/15. Referred to Committee on Judiciary. p. 1 HB 1376 goods, merchandise, services, or personal property, or for the 1 rendering of personal services, or for public conveyance or 2 transportation on land, water, or in the air, including the stations 3 and terminals thereof and the garaging of vehicles, or where food or 4 beverages of any kind are sold for consumption on the premises, or 5 where public amusement, entertainment, sports, or recreation of any 6 kind is offered with or without charge, or where medical service or 7 care is made available, or where the public gathers, congregates, or 8 assembles for amusement, recreation, or public purposes, or public 9 halls, public elevators, and public washrooms of buildings and 10 structures occupied by two or more tenants, or by the owner and one 11 or more tenants, or any public library or educational institution, or 12 schools of special instruction, or nursery schools, or day care 13 centers or children's camps: PROVIDED, That nothing contained in this 14 definition shall be construed to include or apply to any institute, 15 bona fide club, or place of accommodation, which is by its nature 16 distinctly private, including fraternal organizations, though where 17 public use is permitted that use shall be covered by this chapter; 18 nor shall anything contained in this definition be construed to 19 include or apply to any educational facility, columbarium, crematory, 20 mausoleum, or cemetery operated or maintained by a bona fide 21 religious or sectarian institution; nor shall anything contained in 22 this definition be construed to include or apply to any accommodation 23 that is owned, operated, or maintained by any religious or sectarian 24 organization not organized for profit. 25 (3) "Commission" means the Washington state human rights 26 commission. 27 (4) "Complainant" means the person who files a complaint in a 28 real estate transaction. 29 (5) "Covered multifamily dwelling" means: (a) Buildings 30 consisting of four or more dwelling units if such buildings have one 31 or more elevators; and (b) ground floor dwelling units in other 32 buildings consisting of four or more dwelling units. 33 (6) "Credit transaction" includes any open or closed end credit 34 transaction, whether in the nature of a loan, retail installment 35 transaction, credit card issue or charge, or otherwise, and whether 36 for personal or for business purposes, in which a service, finance, 37 or interest charge is imposed, or which provides for repayment in 38 scheduled payments, when such credit is extended in the regular 39 course of any trade or commerce, including but not limited to 40 p. 2 HB 1376 transactions by banks, savings and loan associations or other 1 financial lending institutions of whatever nature, stock brokers, or 2 by a merchant or mercantile establishment which as part of its 3 ordinary business permits or provides that payment for purchases of 4 property or service therefrom may be deferred. 5 (7)(a) "Disability" means the presence of a sensory, mental, or 6 physical impairment that: 7 (i) Is medically cognizable or diagnosable; or 8 (ii) Exists as a record or history; or 9 (iii) Is perceived to exist whether or not it exists in fact. 10 (b) A disability exists whether it is temporary or permanent, 11 common or uncommon, mitigated or unmitigated, or whether or not it 12 limits the ability to work generally or work at a particular job or 13 whether or not it limits any other activity within the scope of this 14 chapter. 15 (c) For purposes of this definition, "impairment" includes, but 16 is not limited to: 17 (i) Any physiological disorder, or condition, cosmetic 18 disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the 19 following body systems: Neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense 20 organs, respiratory, including speech organs, cardiovascular, 21 reproductive, digestive, genitor-urinary, hemic and lymphatic, skin, 22 and endocrine; or 23 (ii) Any mental, developmental, traumatic, or psychological 24 disorder, including but not limited to cognitive limitation, organic 25 brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning 26 disabilities. 27 (d) Only for the purposes of qualifying for reasonable 28 accommodation in employment, an impairment must be known or shown 29 through an interactive process to exist in fact and: 30 (i) The impairment must have a substantially limiting effect upon 31 the individual's ability to perform his or her job, the individual's 32 ability to apply or be considered for a job, or the individual's 33 access to equal benefits, privileges, or terms or conditions of 34 employment; or 35 (ii) The employee must have put the employer on notice of the 36 existence of an impairment, and medical documentation must establish 37 a reasonable likelihood that engaging in job functions without an 38 accommodation would aggravate the impairment to the extent that it 39 would create a substantially limiting effect. 40 p. 3 HB 1376 (e) For purposes of (d) of this subsection, a limitation is not 1 substantial if it has only a trivial effect. 2 (8) "Dog guide" means a dog that is trained for the purpose of 3 guiding blind persons or a dog that is trained for the purpose of 4 assisting hearing impaired persons. 5 (9) "Dwelling" means any building, structure, or portion thereof 6 that is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a 7 residence by one or more families, and any vacant land that is 8 offered for sale or lease for the construction or location thereon of 9 any such building, structure, or portion thereof. 10 (10) "Employee" does not include any individual employed by his 11 or her parents, spouse, or child, or in the domestic service of any 12 person. 13 (11) "Employer" includes any person acting in the interest of an 14 employer, directly or indirectly, who employs eight or more persons, 15 and does not include any religious or sectarian organization not 16 organized for private profit. 17 (12) "Employment agency" includes any person undertaking with or 18 without compensation to recruit, procure, refer, or place employees 19 for an employer. 20 (13) "Families with children status" means one or more 21 individuals who have not attained the age of eighteen years being 22 domiciled with a parent or another person having legal custody of 23 such individual or individuals, or with the designee of such parent 24 or other person having such legal custody, with the written 25 permission of such parent or other person. Families with children 26 status also applies to any person who is pregnant or is in the 27 process of securing legal custody of any individual who has not 28 attained the age of eighteen years. 29 (14) "Full enjoyment of" includes the right to purchase any 30 service, commodity, or article of personal property offered or sold 31 on, or by, any establishment to the public, and the admission of any 32 person to accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of 33 any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement, 34 without acts directly or indirectly causing persons of any particular 35 race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, or with 36 any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained 37 dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability, to be 38 treated as not welcome, accepted, desired, or solicited. 39 p. 4 HB 1376 (15) "Honorably discharged veteran or military status" means a 1 person who is: 2 (a) A veteran, as defined in RCW 41.04.007; or 3 (b) An active or reserve member in any branch of the armed forces 4 of the United States, including the national guard, coast guard, and 5 armed forces reserves. 6 (16) "Labor organization" includes any organization which exists 7 for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers 8 concerning grievances or terms or conditions of employment, or for 9 other mutual aid or protection in connection with employment. 10 (17) "Marital status" means the legal status of being married, 11 single, separated, divorced, or widowed. 12 (18) "National origin" includes "ancestry." 13 (19) "Person" includes one or more individuals, partnerships, 14 associations, organizations, corporations, cooperatives, legal 15 representatives, trustees and receivers, or any group of persons; it 16 includes any owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, agent, or employee, 17 whether one or more natural persons; and further includes any 18 political or civil subdivisions of the state and any agency or 19 instrumentality of the state or of any political or civil subdivision 20 thereof. 21 (20) "Premises" means the interior or exterior spaces, parts, 22 components, or elements of a building, including individual dwelling 23 units and the public and common use areas of a building. 24 (21) "Real estate transaction" includes the sale, appraisal, 25 brokering, exchange, purchase, rental, or lease of real property, 26 transacting or applying for a real estate loan, or the provision of 27 brokerage services. 28 (22) "Real property" includes buildings, structures, dwellings, 29 real estate, lands, tenements, leaseholds, interests in real estate 30 cooperatives, condominiums, and hereditaments, corporeal and 31 incorporeal, or any interest therein. 32 (23) "Respondent" means any person accused in a complaint or 33 amended complaint of an unfair practice in a real estate transaction. 34 (24) "Service animal" means an animal that is trained for the 35 purpose of assisting or accommodating a sensory, mental, or physical 36 disability of a person with a disability. 37 (25) "Sex" means gender. 38 (26) "Sexual orientation" means heterosexuality, homosexuality, 39 bisexuality, and gender expression or identity. As used in this 40 p. 5 HB 1376 definition, "gender expression or identity" means having or being 1 perceived as having a gender identity, self-image, appearance, 2 behavior, or expression, whether or not that gender identity, self- 3 image, appearance, behavior, or expression is different from that 4 traditionally associated with the sex assigned to that person at 5 birth. 6 --- END --- p. 6 HB 1376