Marital Status Discrimination in Washington: Relevance of the Identity and Actions of an Employee\u27s Spouse

Before 1993, Washington\u27s 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\u27s 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\u27s 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