State Attorney General Rob McKenna this afternoon has delivered a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla, responding to his question about the legal validity of labor's "top legislative priority" this session, the so-called Worker Privacy Act, which imposes unnecessary, unworkable, and unconstitutional restrictions on employer communications with employees. Senator Hewitt asked AG McKenna if, as we've been contending, provisions of this law are pre-empted by federal law.
AG McKenna has confirmed that indeed the bill's attempt to restrict communications between employers and employees on matters related to "labor and other mutual aid organizations" runs afoul of federal law.
There are many pressing priorities confronting the Legislature this session -- solving the budget gap, stimulating investment and economic recovery, growing and maintaining jobs -- it should not waste its time on a bill that now even our state's top lawyer confirms is unconstitutional.
