Oppose H.B. 1965 to Keep Frivolous Lawsuits Out of Washington State Courts
Contact Your Legislator Now!
Join us in asking legislators to vote no on House Bill 1965 in Washington. This bill will open the floodgates to frivolous and dishonest litigation. This bill will allow private attorneys to sue on behalf of public and private parties, while keeping a significant portion of the recovery. This bill is unnecessary due to readily available methods for effective remedies in workplace safety and employment laws. In California under a similar “qui tam” law, just in 2017 8,000 cases were filed with an average settlement per employee at $75,000 – however, the employee received only $200 due to attorneys’ fees and other costs.
Want your voice to be heard? We’re here to help. Use this link to find your legislator’s contact information, then you can send them an email telling them to oppose this bill by using our draft letter below.
Together, we can keep frivolous lawsuits out of Washington.
Example Letter:
I ask you to OPPOSE H.B. 1965, sponsored by Representatives Hansen, Stonier, Sullivan, Riccelli, Lekanoff, Cody, Macri, Ormsby, Appleton, Fitzgibbon, Ortiz-Self, and Pollet, which will allow “qui tam” actions to enforce labor and employment laws by private attorneys general, or relators, by permitting anyone to file a lawsuit on behalf of the public and private parties. These sorts of laws encourage frivolous lawsuits and it is the job of the legislature to protect Washingtonians from abusive, meritless, and costly litigation.
Under a similar law in California, in 2017 alone California had 8,000 qui tam cases filed. The average settlement per employee was nearly $75,000, but the employee received just $200 due to attorneys’ fees and other costs. In one case, a company faced a $7.8 million settlement after it was determined the misclassified employees – the state received $3.6 million, the trial lawyers received $2.6 million, while the “harmed” employees received a mere $1.08 each.
This bill is unnecessary because effective remedies already are available for all workplace safety and employment laws covered within the bill. For this and other reasons, I strongly OPPOSE H.B. 1965.
Thank you in advance for opposing this bill and working to protect your constituents from frivolous litigation.