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Home / Washington Business - September/October 2004 / Know Your Judges: AWB Rates Judges for First Time |
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Know Your Judges: AWB Rates Judges for First Time |
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Written On: September/October 2004 |
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Written By: by Daniel Brunell |
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Employers are finding out the hard way that courts have a tremendous impact on their business. Even though our attention focuses most often on the president, Congress, state Legislature, federal and state agencies, and the governor, the power of the judicial branch is on the rise and is becoming a new political battleground. Nowhere is that more evident than in the pitch battle between the president and Congress over appointments to the federal bench. Today more than ever, the decisions courts make have a huge impact on our society and businesses.
At the federal level, judges are appointed, but in Washington state, we elect the judiciary. AWB members need to know the candidates before we vote, so your Association believes the best way we can help you become more involved and knowledgeable in judicial elections is to introduce our new judicial scorecard and to endorse candidates for the Washington Supreme Court.
Many business leaders may not realize the judicial system has as big an effect on business as the Legislature, state agency directors and the governor. The judicial branch might not write the laws we fight for in the Legislature or carry them out like the governor, but the judicial system decides how the laws and rules are to be interpreted. Since most business leaders are not attorneys or legal afficionados, they do not always grasp what this power really means.
Courts Have Impact on Employers
“The judicial system has a greater impact than most of us realize,” said Wes Uhlman, an attorney and owner of Wes Uhlman and Associates. Uhlman is a former state legislator and past Seattle mayor who chaired AWB’s Board and now is current chair of our Governmental Affairs Council.
Uhlman worries that employers ignore the judicial races. “It is off most of our radar screens, but the decisions the Supreme Court makes can be life or death for a business.”
Examples of Washington Supreme Court decisions that have dramatically impacted businesses include:
• Cockle v. Dept. of Labor & Industries. By a 6-3 decision, Cockle held that employer-provided health insurance benefits constitute “wages” under the workers’ compensation statute, and so they must be included in the calculation of workers’ comp payments. The Cockle decision changed existing law and added millions of dollars to Washington’s already over-strapped workers’ comp system. Reversing Cockle has been a centerpiece of AWB’s wage simplification legislative proposals for the past three sessions.
• Avundes v. Dept. of Labor & Industries. By unanimous decision, Avundes held that seasonal workers wages for workers’ compensation purposes must be calculated based on the workers’ current monthly wage, rather than an average wage. This ruling treated seasonal workers as full-time workers and, like Cockle, has resulted in tremendous cost increases for the workers’ compensation system. Addressing Avundes is another AWB primary legislative objective.
• Drinkwitz v. Alliant TechSystems, Inc. By a 5-4 decision, the court held that Washington employers cannot conclusively rely on the provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act for wage and hour rules when Washington’s Minimum Wage Act is silent. This ruling creates great uncertainty for employers who must comply with both state and federal wage and hour laws, even though subtle differences exist between the two authorities. Employers unsuccessfully pushed for a “Drinkwitz fix” that allows employers who act in good faith to rely on federal standards in the absence of state standards in employment law for the last three legislative sessions.
AWB Tracking Judges
Kris Tefft, AWB’s general counsel, said, “With the Judicial Scorecard and Guide to the Washington Supreme Court in this issue, we are providing a document that members can use to better inform themselves about the candidates for the State Supreme Court in this year’s elections.
“Members may also want to review the 2004 Judicial Scorecard of our partner in fighting lawsuit abuse, the Liability Reform Coalition. Our scorecard differs slightly from LRC’s in that we select additional cases over a longer time frame and across more business issues,” Tefft continued, while noting that “the liability cases we each look at are very similar and reach similar results.”
For the first time in AWB history, we have endorsed candidates in the Supreme Court races recommending incumbent Justices Barbara Madsen and Richard Sanders for re-election, as well as Olympia attorney Jim Johnson for election.
“AWB established the endorsement process to advise our members which Justices and judicial candidates might be likely to appreciate a business perspective on the myriad of issues that come before the Court,” said Jean Leonard, a principal in Leonard and Jacoy, an Olympia law firm. Leonard chairs AWB’s Legal Affairs committee. “We're hopeful that these tools will be of use to AWB members as they go to the polls this fall.”
For more information on important upcoming legal decisions, pressing business issues, our political endorsements and election coverage, check our Web site at www.awb.org.
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