2020 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES
During each Washington Legislative Session, Legal Voice advocates for policies that improve the lives of women and LGBTQ people, and defends against bills that will roll back the progress we've made. There are many bills that we monitor each year, but the ones listed below are our designated priorities for the 2020 session—meaning Legal Voice plays a leading and active role.
Visit our Legislative Updates page for information on our past legislative priorities and past sessions. If you would like to receive updates about our current priorities by email throughout the session, please sign up here.
Addressing Sexual Misconduct on College Campuses
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This bill will require colleges and universities to administer a campus climate assessment to gauge the prevalence of sexual misconduct on their campuses. It also requires job applicants to authorize the disclosure of sexual misconduct findings and prohibits nondisclosure agreements in sexual misconduct settlements. The bill would require the educational institutions to use a preponderance of evidence standard when determining whether a complaint or allegation is credible.
Requiring Comprehensive Sexual Education
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This bill requires every public school to provide comprehensive sexual health education that is evidence-informed, medically and scientifically accurate, age-appropriate, inclusive of all students, and that recognizes all members of a protected class under Washington law.
Creating a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights
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This bill will create a statewide domestic workers bill of rights modeled largely after the Seattle City ordinance that passed in 2018.
Mandatory Sexual Harassment Training and Peer Training
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This bill helps low-wage workers and advocates address high rates of workplace sexual harassment through new policy tools that build off the momentum of the Isolated Workers bill that passed in 2019. The focus is on legislation that mandates peer harassment training tailored to the needs of low wage workers.
Creating a Sexual Harassment Trainer Registration System
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This bill requires Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries to create a registration system for trainers who train workers on the prevention of workplace harassment and discrimination and retaliation.
Holding Insurers that Refuse to Provide Required Health Coverage Accountable
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This bill will impose an assessment on insurance carriers that, for any reason, opt out of providing any legally required benefit. The purpose of the assessment is to offset the unfair economic advantage to those carriers that opt out over carriers that provide all of the required coverage.
Curbing Abusive Litigation
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This bill would protect survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault by discouraging abusers from using the legal system to continue to harass, intimidate, or control their partners.
Other Important Bills
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Legal Voice is also monitoring other bills this session to ensure progressive policies that improve the lives of women and LGBTQ people in Washington. These include bills that prevent health entities from interfering with medical professionals’ ability to provide patients with medically accurate resources and treatment, including miscarriage management, extend the time to file a pregnancy discrimination complaint, and ensures state funding to cover reproductive health care services under Title IX.