Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that Alpha Omicron Pi, a national sorority, must refund or waive the housing fees it unlawfully charged dozens of University of Washington students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sorority charged thousands of dollars in housing fees in 2020 and 2021, even though COVID-19 prevented the students from accessing sorority housing — a violation of Gov. Jay Inslee’s emergency eviction moratorium.
SEATTLE — The Attorney General’s Office will appear before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today to ask its judges to uphold Washington’s law protecting children under 18 from being subjected to “conversion therapy” — a discredited and harmful practice that seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
WENATCHEE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a civil rights lawsuit today against a Wenatchee veterans nonprofit and its founder and CEO regarding discrimination and sexual harassment. The nonprofit and CEO discriminated against and harassed at least 12 women who worked at or visited the nonprofit’s two thrift stores, the Veterans Warehouse Thrift Store in Wenatchee, and the Veterans Thrift Store in Kennewick.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that the claims process is now open as a result of his successful civil rights case against Greyhound Lines Inc. Greyhound passengers detained, arrested or deported after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents approached them, or boarded their Greyhound bus, at the Spokane Intermodal Center are eligible for a share of $2.2 million Greyhound paid to resolve Ferguson’s lawsuit. Claims are due by March 31, 2022.
OLYMPIA — In a victory for Washington, a federal jury determined that The GEO Group Inc. (GEO), the for-profit operator of the Northwest ICE Processing Center, violates Washington’s minimum wage laws by paying detainee workers only $1 per day. The verdict concludes the first phase of a retrial in Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s lawsuit against GEO.
El Procurador General Bob Ferguson anunció hoy que Greyhound Lines Inc. pagará $2.2 millones para resolver su demanda sobre la práctica de la línea de autobuses de permitir que los agentes de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza de los EE.UU. (U.S. Customs & Border Protection) (CBP) aborden sus autobuses para llevar a cabo redadas migratorias sin contar con órdenes judiciales ni sospecha razonable cuando no tenían que hacerlo. Greyhound no les advirtió a los clientes sobre las redadas, tergiversó su rol en permitir que se realizaran redadas y sometió a sus pasajeros a la discriminación a base de raza, color de la piel o nacionalidad.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson issued the following statement today after the U.S. Supreme Court denied review of the state’s lawsuit against a Richland florist for violating Washington’s Consumer Protection Act and the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD) by refusing to serve a same-sex couple seeking to buy wedding flowers in 2013:
Attorney General Bob Ferguson today filed a lawsuit against travel insurance company Allianz over its discriminatory practice of categorically denying insurance claims for Washingtonians who had to cancel or reschedule their travel plans because of mental health events.
SEATTLE — As a result of a lawsuit brought by Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a California-based air cargo handler must end its practice of discriminating against pregnant and disabled employees, in violation of the Washington Law Against Discrimination. The company, Matheson Flight Extenders, must also pay $168,500, which will compensate harmed employees.
OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that Boston Scientific, a medical device manufacturer, will pay more than $8.8 million to Washington for misrepresentations and failure to include serious risks in the instructions and marketing materials for surgical mesh devices.

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