Still Moving Through Legislature
- Extends the 3-day notice for default in rent payment to 14 days’ notice for tenancies under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act.
- Requires the 14-day notice be written in plain language and include information on civil legal aid resources available, if any, to the tenant.
- Extends the mandatory-notice period from 30 to 60 days when landlords propose a rent-change amount. Requires a landlord to first apply any tenant payment to rent before applying the payment toward other charges.
- Prohibits continued tenancy and relief from forfeiture to be conditioned upon tenant payment or satisfaction of
any monetary amount other than rent. - Provides the court with discretion to provide relief from forfeiture or to stay a writ of restitution.
- Requires a landlord to provide a tenant with documentation regarding any damages for which the landlord intends to retain any of the deposit amount
Link to complete Bill: http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2019-20/Pdf/Bill%20Reports/House/1453-S.E%20HBR%20APH%2019.pdfWHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ORCA
Thank you Rebekah for volunteering to assist us with providing up-to-date information to property owners and managers in the South King County area with a wide range of experience and knowledge. There were 64 people registered for the class, CHARACTERISTICES OF A GOOD RESIDENT & THE ESSENTIALS.
Thanks Again for your continued support!!!
Sonya Teaberry, Community Service Officer, Des Moines, Police Department
Dear Rebekah,
On behalf of Washington State Housing Finance Commission, The WA State Department of Commerce we would like
to extend our sincere gratitude to Orca Information for your sponsorship of “Housing Washington 2018. We greatly
appreciate your participation and involvement.
Sincerely,
Kim Herman, Executive Director Washington State Housing Finance Commission
GUIDE TO CRIMINAL RECORDS AND EMPLOYMENT IN WASHINGTON STATE
•Do I have a right to know whether an employer is doing a background check on me?
Usually yes. If an employer does its own investigation, you don’t have a right to know about the investigation. But, if an employer uses a consumer reporting agency, you have a right to know that it is doing the background check.
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) says that before an employer can request a background check from a CRA, it
must get your consent in writing. The employer must also notify you in writing, in a separate document, that the report may be
used to deny you employment.
•Do I have a right to know if an employer is going to deny me a job based on a background check?
Yes. Before an employer takes adverse action (for example, denies you a job, refuses to promote you, or fires you) based on a criminal record, it must notify you that is has decided to act based on the background check.
The notice must include:
- A copy of the background report that the employer used
A document called “A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act”
These rules apply even if an employer has other reasons to reject you. So long as the background check was part of the employer’s
decision, the employer has to follow federal law and give you notice.
Finally, once an employer has taken adverse action against you because of a background check, it has to issue a second notice.
The notice does not need to be written, but it must include:
- The name, address, and phone number of the CRA that supplied the report
- A statement that the CRA that supplied the report did not make the decision to take the adverse action and it cannot give specific
reasons for the decision; and - A notice of your right to dispute the accuracy or completeness of any information in the report
- A notice of your right to an additional free consumer report from the agency within 60 days, if you request one.
•Do I have a right to get a copy of any background check that an employer uses?
Yes. If an employer has denied you a job based on a background check performed by a CRA, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act
says you are entitled to get a copy of the background check. If the employer did not offer you one, you should request it.
If an employer hasn’t done a background check, but you would like to learn what may be in a background check, you may get a copy
of your criminal history report from the Washington State Patrol or FBI. For more information about how to get those reports, see the
ACLU of Washington’s Guide to Getting and Reading a Criminal History Report.
•Do I have a right to request that a consumer reporting agency stop reporting something in my criminal history?
Yes, if it is inaccurate or cannot be legally reported.
Federal law requires CRAs to make sure that information in reports is complete, up to date, and as accurate as possible. So, you can
usually get a CRA to stop reporting information that is incorrect or misleading.
Again, an employer must give you the notice before it takes the action, to give you time to dispute anything in the
background check. There is no set time that must pass between the notice and the employer taking action against
you, but courts have said that an employer who gives between 5 and 14 days notice before denying a job has acted
reasonably.
State and federal law limit what can be reported to most employers.
Federal law says that CRAs cannot report: - Arrests that are older than seven years, if the arrest did not result in a conviction;
- Other negative information (except for convictions) older than seven years.
Washington law also says that CRAs cannot report: - Convictions older than seven years.
- Juvenile convictions, if you’ve turned 21.
