House bill 1491, now law, provides better employee privacy protection

Until earlier this month, employees in Washington state were being actively reprimanded and even terminated over recycling, sealed alcohol beverages and other personal items stored in their private vehicles while parked on company property.

Now that’s changed.

House-bill 1491 was passed and signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee on May 4 after years of lobbying by a local pulp and paper union. The new law prohibits unjustified, random searches of employee personal vehicles that are parked on employer property. The bill will maintain the safety of employees, employers and the general public but greatly improve the privacy and 4th Amendment rights of employees around the state.

The Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers (AWPPW) Union and their lobbyist’s both former AWPPW members, Josh Estes and Sean O’Sullivan of Pacific Northwest Regional Strategies, LLC, have been actively lobbying for the bill for the past couple of legislative sessions after many of their members faced unjustified reprimands from employers following random personal vehicle inspections.

In testimony in both the House and Senate, union representatives cited an employee of 40 years who was reprimanded over a single, unopened bottle of wine found among other groceries picked up on the way to work. A second employee was cited for having empty beer cans in their vehicle, found alongside other recycling they’d put in the back of their car, with the intention of bringing them to a recycling facility after work.

A third testimony cited an employee who returned to work after a weekend fishing trip, accidentally leaving an unopened case of beer in their personal vehicle. The beer was spotted during a random security check and the employee was also reprimanded.

“The testimonies provided were only the tip of the iceberg,” says Russ Ipock, a member and representative of the AWPPW union. “But they provide a clear example of the absurd situations our members and members of other unions have faced . The items found in these situations were all legally purchased and safely locked in an employee’s personal vehicle. The employers had no justified reason to search these vehicles and the employees had done nothing wrong but were still unfairly reprimanded.”

The AWPPW Union hopes that with the passing of house-bill 1491, employees across the state and the country will feel inspired to fight to protect their rights and speak up when they are being treated unfairly.

“This is a win for privacy rights and it’s a big win for organized labor,” says Ipock.

Find more details about House-bill 1491 online here and information about the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers (AWPPW) Union here.