STATE GOVERNMENT
AG: Hanford workers remain protected after court ruling
Legislature has already updated, fixed 2018 Hanford law rejected by the Supreme Court
The following is from the Washington State Office of the Attorney General:
“Because the legislature already fixed the issues the federal government raised, there is little practical impact in Washington as a result of this ruling,” Ferguson said. “Hanford workers, and all others working with dangerous radioactive waste, remain protected. The federal government has not challenged this new law. If they do, we will defend these protections all the way back up to the Supreme Court again if we have to. As long as I’m Attorney General, I will fight for Hanford workers.”
The Biden Administration has not challenged the new law, nor has it indicated it plans to.
Case background
In December 2018, the Trump administration filed a lawsuit challenging the prior law. The federal government argued that the law violates “intergovernmental immunity,” a legal doctrine that prevents states from regulating federal operations or property. However, in 1936 — more than eight decades ago — Congress gave states broad authority to apply their workers’ compensation laws to federal projects.
In June 2019, Judge Stanley A. Bastian for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington granted Washington’s motion for summary judgment upholding the prior law. The Trump administration appealed, and in August 2020, a panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the law.
Just two days after Labor Day in September of 2021, the Biden Administration appealed the Ninth Circuit’s unanimous decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
A week later, Ferguson joined Hanford workers and advocates in Pasco to call on the Biden administration to stop its challenge, to no avail.
On April 18, 2022, Washington Deputy Solicitor General Tera Heintz delivered oral arguments defending the law before the Supreme Court.
Washington’s Attorney General serves the people and the state of Washington. As the state’s largest law firm, the Attorney General’s Office provides legal representation to every state agency, board, and commission in Washington. Additionally, the Office serves the people directly by enforcing consumer protection, civil rights, and environmental protection laws. The Office also prosecutes elder abuse, Medicaid fraud, and handles sexually violent predator cases in 38 of Washington’s 39 counties. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.