Marital Status Discrimination in Washington: Relevance of the Identity and Actions of an Employee's Spouse

Authors

Katrina R. Kelly

Abstract

Before 1993, Washington's employment anti-discrimination statute did not define the term "marital status," and courts interpreted the term broadly to include discrimination based upon the actions or identity of an employee's spouse. A 1993 amendment to the Law Against Discrimination added a definition of marital status. Although the Supreme Court of Washington has not yet considered the impact of this amendment, the dissent in Magula v. Benton Franklin TitlCeo . argued that the change in the statute should narrow the interpretation of marital status to exclude the identity and actions of an employee's spouse. This Comment argues that the scope of the law against marital status discrimination is unaffected by the 1993 amendment, which clarified, rather than changed, existing law.

First Page

135

Recommended Citation

Katrina R. Kelly, Notes and Comments, Marital Status Discrimination in Washington: Relevance of the Identity and Actions of an Employee's Spouse, 73 Wash. L. Rev. 135 (1998).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol73/iss1/7