Washington
Aubry McMahon v. World Vision, Inc.
On October 28, 2024, the ACLU and ACLU of Washington filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit supporting affirmance of a Washington district court decision holding that a religiously affiliated nonprofit organization violated Title VII and the Washington State antidiscrimination law when it rescinded a hiring candidate’s job offer because she is a woman married to a person of the same sex. Should the Ninth Circuit accept the organization’s First Amendment defense—that religious organizations can discriminate on any basis so long as it is grounded in their religious belief—it would gut employment protections for LGBTQ individuals and pave the way for religious organizations to discriminate on the basis of not only sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity but also other protected characteristics like race, color, and national origin.
Status: Ongoing
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10 Washington Cases
Washington
Oct 2023
National Security
Wagafe v. USCIS - Lawsuit Challenging Secret Program Blocking Immigrant Applications
The ACLU and its affiliates in Southern California and Washington, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, the Law Offices of Stacy Tolchin, and Perkins Coie LLP filed a class action lawsuit in January 2017 challenging a federal government program used to deny or indefinitely delay thousands of law-abiding people—many of them from Muslim-majority countries—from becoming citizens or lawful residents due to unspecified “national security concerns.”
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Washington
Oct 2023
National Security
Wagafe v. USCIS - Lawsuit Challenging Secret Program Blocking Immigrant Applications
The ACLU and its affiliates in Southern California and Washington, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, the Law Offices of Stacy Tolchin, and Perkins Coie LLP filed a class action lawsuit in January 2017 challenging a federal government program used to deny or indefinitely delay thousands of law-abiding people—many of them from Muslim-majority countries—from becoming citizens or lawful residents due to unspecified “national security concerns.”
Washington
Oct 2023
LGBTQ Rights
Wetherell v. Alaska Airlines
Justin Wetherell is a nonbinary flight attendant and flight attendant instructor at Alaska Airlines. As a flight attendant, they have been required to comply with Alaska Airlines’ uniform and grooming policies that are grounded in outdated sex stereotypes and conflict with Justin’s nonbinary gender identity and fluid gender expression. Now Justin and the Washington State Human Rights Commission are fighting to ensure that Alaska Airlines’ uniform and grooming policy complies with the Washington State Law Against Discrimination and permits all employees to dress and groom in a professional manner that is consistent with their gender identity and expression.
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Washington
Oct 2023
LGBTQ Rights
Wetherell v. Alaska Airlines
Justin Wetherell is a nonbinary flight attendant and flight attendant instructor at Alaska Airlines. As a flight attendant, they have been required to comply with Alaska Airlines’ uniform and grooming policies that are grounded in outdated sex stereotypes and conflict with Justin’s nonbinary gender identity and fluid gender expression. Now Justin and the Washington State Human Rights Commission are fighting to ensure that Alaska Airlines’ uniform and grooming policy complies with the Washington State Law Against Discrimination and permits all employees to dress and groom in a professional manner that is consistent with their gender identity and expression.
Washington
Apr 2019
Reproductive Freedom
National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, Feminist Women’s Health Center v. Alex Azar
The ACLU and ACLU of Washington filed a lawsuit on behalf of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) and Cedar River Clinics in Washington state challenging the Trump administration’s attempt to fundamentally alter the Title X family planning program, which provides care to 4 million low-income people each year.
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Washington
Apr 2019
Reproductive Freedom
National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, Feminist Women’s Health Center v. Alex Azar
The ACLU and ACLU of Washington filed a lawsuit on behalf of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) and Cedar River Clinics in Washington state challenging the Trump administration’s attempt to fundamentally alter the Title X family planning program, which provides care to 4 million low-income people each year.
Washington
Oct 2017
LGBTQ Rights
Enstad v. PeaceHealth
The ACLU and the ACLU of Washington filed a civil rights lawsuit against PeaceHealth, a Catholic healthcare organization, on behalf of Cheryl Enstad and her teenage son, Pax, for denying coverage under its health benefits plan for medically necessary surgery to Pax simply because of who he is. The suit claims that PeaceHealth’s policy of refusing to cover medical care required by transgender people is discrimination and violates federal and state law.
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Washington
Oct 2017
LGBTQ Rights
Enstad v. PeaceHealth
The ACLU and the ACLU of Washington filed a civil rights lawsuit against PeaceHealth, a Catholic healthcare organization, on behalf of Cheryl Enstad and her teenage son, Pax, for denying coverage under its health benefits plan for medically necessary surgery to Pax simply because of who he is. The suit claims that PeaceHealth’s policy of refusing to cover medical care required by transgender people is discrimination and violates federal and state law.