February 26, 2007

Guite Quoted in Seattle Times Article on Anti-Bias Law

Robert Guite was quoted in an article entitled, “Agency Rules State’s Anti-Bias Law Doesn’t Apply to Some Benefits,” that appeared in the February 24 edition of The Seattle Times. The article discussed a recent ruling by Washington’s Human Rights Commission stating that if Washington residents are fired from a job or denied credit based on their sexual orientation, then the commission can intervene to protect their civil rights, unless they are denied benefits from private employers. In those cases, the commission is powerless since Washington’s anti-discrimination law does not supercede federal law.

“‘ERISA has one of the broadest pre-emption provisions of any federal statute ever,’” Robert is quoted as saying. “‘Virtually all state laws that reach employee benefits are pre-empted by ERISA, regardless of their incidental application on matters that may be of interest to states.’”

Read the full article.