Demand Transparency for Washington’s Workers: Pass SB 5061

Washington State Legislature

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The Problem:
Workers get misled and exploited by not knowing how they are evaluated while on the job. This bill creates a fair chance for workers to get the dignity and respect they deserve.
Employers in Washington are under no legal obligation to provide basic transparency in their performance evaluation processes. Workers are often actively denied access to the records pertaining to their own performance reviews or discipline – including any rationale for a demotion or termination. These decisions cause enormous disruption to workers’ finances and to their families. The lack of transparency does not afford workers the integrity and dignity which they deserve.

The opacity of the performance evaluation process also leads to a biased system with structural barriers for Black and Latino workers; one prominent tech company’s own internal data shows that Black workers are twice as likely than white workers to be subject to performance-related discipline and only half as likely to receive a performance commendation.

The Solution:
A bill introduced in the Washington State Senate, Senate Bill (SB) 5061, mandates that workers have access to the entirety of their employment files, including performance reviews and disciplinary records.

The Effect:
Transparency in HR practices provides basic information that workers need to make informed decisions about their jobs and their livelihood. Transparency lessens the information imbalance between worker and employer, which evens the power balance between worker and employer.

Although tech companies may be among the most egregious practitioners of opaque HR practices, this bill helps ALL workers in Washington: white collar & blue collar, knowledge economy & service economy.

The Action:
We, the workers of Washington urge the Washington State Legislature to:
  • Pass SB 5061 in the 2023 legislative session and send the bill to Gov. Inslee’s desk!

Additional Info:

If you want to learn more about the bill, including its text and co-sponsors, check out the official summary from the Legislature. The bill was introduced in the 2021 session and will be re-introduced at the start of the 2022 session in January.

If you are not a Washington resident, please feel free to sign as in solidarity. Put a 'zero' in for your Legislative District if that's the case.

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Petition by
Gravatar
Pat Mcgah
Seattle, Washington

To: Washington State Legislature
From: [Your Name]

The Problem:

Employers in Washington are under no legal obligation to provide basic transparency in their performance evaluation processes. Workers are often actively denied access to the records pertaining to their own performance reviews or discipline – including any rationale for a demotion or termination. These decisions cause enormous disruption to workers’ finances and to their families. The lack of transparency does not afford workers the integrity and dignity which they deserve.

The opacity of the performance evaluation process also leads to a biased system with structural barriers for Black and Latino workers; one prominent tech company’s own internal data (Amazon) shows that Black workers are twice as likely than white workers to be subject to performance-related discipline and only half as likely to receive a performance commendation.

The Solution:

Senate Bill 5061, mandates that workers have access to the entirety of their employment files, including performance reviews and disciplinary records.

The Effect:

Transparency in HR provides basic information that workers need to make informed decisions about their jobs and their livelihood. Transparency lessens the information imbalance between worker and employer, which evens the power balance between worker and employer.

Although tech companies may be among the most egregious practitioners of opaque HR practices, this bill helps ALL workers in Washington: white collar & blue collar, knowledge economy & service economy.

The Action:

We, the undersigned workers of Washington, urge the Washington State Legislature to: Pass SB 5061 in the 2023 legislative session and send the bill to Gov. Inslee’s desk!