What Is the Washington Law Against Discrimination?

The Washington Law Against Discrimination, codified at RCW 49.60, is the state’s civil rights statute. It prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, credit, and insurance, and it gives you two ways to enforce it: a free complaint with the Washington State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC) or a lawsuit in court.¹ One number matters more than any other if you think you have a claim: six months. That is the general deadline to file with the WSHRC, and missing it usually ends the case.

Who the Law Protects

RCW 49.60.030 makes it a civil right to be free from discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sex, sexual orientation (which includes gender identity and expression), honorably discharged veteran or military status, and the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or use of a trained dog guide or service animal.² Those categories apply across employment, public accommodations, real estate, credit, and insurance.

Two more categories apply in specific settings. Age is a protected class in employment, so an employer cannot refuse to hire, fire, or pay you differently because of your age.³ Families with children are explicitly protected in real estate transactions, meaning landlords and sellers cannot turn you away because you have kids.² Marital status appears as a protected characteristic in both employment and housing. The law also protects a mother’s right to breastfeed in any public place.

Each category stands on its own. You only need to show that one protected characteristic motivated the treatment you received.

Where the Law Applies

Employment

The WLAD covers any employer with eight or more employees, including anyone acting in the employer’s interest.³ Religious or sectarian organizations not organized for private profit are excluded. That eight-employee threshold is lower than the 15-employee minimum under federal Title VII, which means Washington law reaches smaller workplaces that federal law does not.⁴ The law applies to hiring, firing, pay, promotions, and every other term or condition of employment. Job postings and application forms that express a preference based on a protected trait are also unlawful unless the characteristic is a genuine occupational qualification.

Housing and Real Estate

Sales, rentals, leases, and financing all fall under the statute. Landlords, property managers, real estate agents, and lenders are covered. Prohibited conduct includes refusing to rent or sell, offering different lease terms, misrepresenting that a property is unavailable, and discriminating in mortgage or financing terms.⁵ Landlords must allow reasonable modifications for tenants with disabilities at the tenant’s expense.

Housing providers must also make reasonable accommodations for assistance animals, including emotional support animals, even when a no-pets policy is in place. Under the federal Fair Housing Act, the landlord must allow the accommodation when the tenant has a disability-related need for the animal and cannot charge pet deposits or fees for it.⁶

Public Accommodations, Credit, and Insurance

Any place open to the general public qualifies as a public accommodation. Restaurants, hotels, theaters, retail stores, hospitals, libraries, transit facilities, schools, and government offices all count, and privately owned spaces open to the public are included.⁷ The law also reaches credit and insurance transactions, so banks, lenders, and insurers cannot use protected characteristics to deny services, set different terms, or charge higher rates.²

Retaliation Is a Separate Claim

Under RCW 49.60.210, it is unlawful for an employer, housing provider, or business to punish someone for opposing discriminatory practices, filing a complaint, or participating in an investigation.⁸ The protection covers not only the person who experienced discrimination but also coworkers or witnesses who supported the complaint. Demotions, threats, punitive schedule changes, and termination after a complaint are classic retaliation scenarios, and each one gives rise to its own separate legal claim.

Filing Deadlines

This is where people lose their claims. The general deadline to file with the WSHRC is six months from the date of the discriminatory act.⁹ It runs whether or not you’ve hired an attorney and whether or not you’ve finished gathering evidence. Three categories get longer windows:

Real estate discrimination: one year from the discriminatory act.⁹
Pregnancy discrimination: one year from the discriminatory act.
Whistleblower retaliation: two years from the retaliatory act.

If you file a federal housing complaint with HUD, the deadline is one year from the last discriminatory act.¹⁰ For federal employment claims through the EEOC, the deadline extends to 300 days because Washington has its own anti-discrimination agency.¹¹ Even with the longer federal windows, waiting is risky. Evidence goes stale and witnesses forget.

Two Ways to Enforce the Law

File a Complaint With the WSHRC

The WSHRC uses an online complaint questionnaire as its main intake method, and there is no fee to file.¹² After you submit the questionnaire describing why you believe you experienced discrimination, an investigator reviews it and contacts you either to draft a formal charge for your signature or to explain why the commission lacks jurisdiction.¹³ The commission provides reasonable accommodations for people who need help with the online process or who need alternative formats.

Before you file, pull together the full legal name and contact information for the employer, landlord, or business you’re filing against, the dates and locations of each incident, the names and contact details of any witnesses, and any supporting documents such as emails, performance reviews, lease agreements, or termination letters. Write a factual, chronological narrative of what happened, who was involved, and which protected characteristic you believe motivated the treatment.

Once a signed charge is returned, the WSHRC notifies the respondent, who has 15 days to submit a written response.¹⁴ The investigation then determines whether reasonable cause exists to believe a violation occurred. If the commission finds reasonable cause, it first tries conciliation, a voluntary agreement between you and the respondent. If that fails, the commission may take the complaint to a formal hearing before an administrative law judge. If no reasonable cause is found, the complaint is dismissed, though you may still have the option to pursue a private lawsuit.

Sue in Court

You don’t have to go through the WSHRC at all. RCW 49.60.030 gives any person injured by a WLAD violation the right to file a civil lawsuit in a court of competent jurisdiction. You can seek an injunction to stop the discriminatory conduct, recover actual damages, or both, plus reasonable attorney fees and court costs.² This private right of action exists independently of the administrative process, so you can file directly in court without first filing with the commission.

The lawsuit route is worth serious consideration when significant damages are at stake. In WSHRC administrative proceedings, an administrative law judge can order hiring, reinstatement, back pay, and other corrective action, but damages for humiliation and mental suffering are capped at $20,000.¹⁵ In a civil lawsuit that cap does not apply. Courts can award the full actual damages you prove, including emotional distress, lost wages, and front pay, with no statutory ceiling. For whistleblower retaliation, the administrative law judge can also impose a civil penalty of up to $5,000 on the person who retaliated and order a suspension of up to 30 days without pay for state employees who engage in retaliation.

The attorney fee provision matters more than most people realize. It makes it financially viable for lawyers to take discrimination cases on contingency or with reduced upfront costs, because the losing defendant pays those fees if you win.

How State and Federal Claims Fit Together

The WSHRC is a Fair Employment Practices Agency, which means it has a worksharing agreement with the EEOC. When you file an employment discrimination complaint with the WSHRC, it is automatically dual-filed with the EEOC, preserving your federal claim without a separate filing. The reverse also works: an EEOC charge gets dual-filed with the WSHRC. Whichever agency receives the charge first ordinarily keeps it for processing.¹⁶

Dual filing matters because federal law requires an EEOC charge before you can bring a federal lawsuit under Title VII or the ADA.¹¹ Filing with the WSHRC satisfies that requirement automatically. For housing discrimination, you can file separately with HUD, which has its own one-year deadline and investigation process.¹⁰

Federal employment law also caps combined compensatory and punitive damages by employer size: $50,000 for employers with 15 to 100 employees, $100,000 for 101 to 200, $200,000 for 201 to 500, and $300,000 for more than 500.¹⁷ Washington has no corresponding cap on court-awarded damages, which is one of the reasons state WLAD claims are often more valuable than their federal counterparts. If you have overlapping claims, an attorney who handles employment or housing discrimination can help you decide which path, or combination of paths, fits your situation.

1
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 49.60.010 – Purpose of Chapter
2
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 49.60.030 – Freedom From Discrimination – Civil Right
3
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 49.60.040 – Definitions
4
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
5
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 49.60.222 – Unfair Practices of Any Person With Respect to Real Estate Transactions
6
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistance Animals
7
Washington State Human Rights Commission. Public Accommodations Brochure
8
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 49.60.210 – Unfair Practices – Discrimination Against Person Opposing Unfair Practice – Retaliation Against Whistleblower
9
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 49.60.230 – Complaint – Filing
10
eCFR. 24 CFR Part 103 – Fair Housing – Complaint Processing
11
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. How to File a Charge of Employment Discrimination
12
Washington State Human Rights Commission. File a Complaint
13
Washington State Human Rights Commission. WA Human Rights Commission Implements New Complaint Filing Process
14
Washington State Human Rights Commission. Employment
15
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 49.60.250 – Hearing Complaints
16
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs) and Dual Filing
17
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Remedies for Employment Discrimination