Full story in The Spokesman-Review

By State Rep. Mary Dye

It is my honor to represent the people of Washington’s 9th Legislative District, where agriculture is not just an industry but the foundation of our communities. Agriculture is in my blood. My husband and I operate our own farm, and like so many of my neighbors, I understand firsthand the challenges that farmers face every day. We worry about weather, markets and pests, but we also worry about the growing threat of lawsuits.

The Washington Farm Bureau Legal Foundation is right to warn that “today’s farm and ranch families face increasing regulatory and legal threats. These pressures endanger their livelihood, diminish their capacity to produce quality local food, and hinder their ability to pass their farm on to the next generation.” I see this reality all around me. Farmers are being targeted in the same way small businesses are, through an increasingly litigious environment where unscrupulous lawyers exploit loopholes for profit. As recent reporting on civil suits against farmers shows, a single accident involving guests or farm activities, or an environmental claim like a lagoon overflow, can trigger seven-figure liability and insurance cancellation. Losing a family farm is not a hypothetical risk.

The abuse of the Equal Pay Opportunities Act is a prime example. The law was passed in 2022 to promote pay equity by requiring employers to post pay ranges and benefits information in online job postings. But it was constructed in such a way that, upon passage, it allowed opportunistic actors to turn it into a legal weapon. Figures from NFIB Washington, show that more than 215 lawsuits have been filed in the state, many by the same law firm. Some plaintiffs admitted they never intended to take the jobs they “applied” for – many not even living in Washington. These were not workers seeking fairness; they were legal opportunists exploiting small errors to extract settlements.

Each case threatened millions in liability, forcing employers to settle rather than face ruinous litigation. The result is higher insurance premiums, higher operating costs, and ultimately higher prices for consumers. That is why I proudly voted for Senate Bill 5408 this past session, which created a “right to cure” for employers and closed some of the worst loopholes in the EPOA. It was an important step, but far more needs to be done.

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This problem is not limited to farms or retail nor is it limited to abuse of the EPOA. It is systemic and policymakers at every level should act to address rules that are being twisted from their original intent and weaponized by unscrupulous lawyers. King County was recently named a national “Judicial Hellhole” in a report from the American Tort Reform Foundation because of practices that undermine due process and encourage lawsuit abuse. And the cost is staggering. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform, Washington residents pay a “tort tax” of more than $3,504 each year due to excessive litigation. Our state loses more than 160,000 jobs annually because of lawsuit abuse – a burden that is especially hard on farmers, ranchers, and retailers, where margins are already razor-thin.

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We all want fairness. But fairness must apply to everyone. Farmers and business owners should not be treated as easy targets for profit-driven lawsuits. That is why I will continue fighting to reform Washington’s legal environment to prevent lawsuit abuse. If we do not, the true cost of lawsuit abuse will not just be measured in dollars. It will be measured in lost jobs, shuttered storefronts, family farms sold off, and communities left behind.

Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, represents the 9th Legislative District (Adams, Asotin, Franklin, Garfield, Whitman counties and parts of Spokane County), where she has lived most of her life. She is the ranking member on the House Environment & Energy Committee and operates a 3,000-acre wheat farm with her husband, Roger.