Enforces state law regarding people who were discriminated against because of their protected status. Includes those who believe they were unfairly denied a reasonable accommodation related to a vaccine mandate.
Enforces state anti-discrimination laws in the following areas:
- Employment
- Housing & Real Estate Housing
- Places of Public Accommodation
- Credit & Insurance
Those who feel discriminated against may file a complaint within six months of the occurrence of the act, or one year in cases of alleged housing discrimination.
Provides free legal consultations for individuals on civil rights issues such as Americans with Disabilities Act, discrimination, prisoner rights, excessive force, search and seizure, free speech and voting rights.
This is a partner legal clinic operated by the Federal Bar Association for the Western District of Washington. King County Bar Association schedules clients for appointments for this clinic. Provides a free 30 minute consultation with an attorney on federal civil rights legal issues.
*Most appointments via telephone with limited in-person availability in Seattle. Legal Clinic Schedulers will provide clients with more information during the intake process*
Prioritizes clients with issues such as
- Inmates receiving inadequate medical care or inadequate counsel as well as other inadequate conditions of confinement
- Employment discrimination
- Sexual harassment
- Cases involving police misconduct
Also advises individuals on issues such as
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Discrimination based on any protected class
- Discrimination related to race or gender
- Prisoner rights and/or prison mistreatment
- Excessive force
- Search and seizure
- Free speech
- Voting rights
- Gun rights
- Title II Housing
- Unlawful sentence
- Ineffective assistance of counsel (In a criminal case ONLY- where an attorney's mistakes were the reason you lost your case)
- Existing cases in federal court
Clinic attorneys can do the following:
- Determine whether the client has a legal problem
- Suggest possible options
- Help answer papers, summons and requests
- Provide appropriate referrals
Clinic attorneys have expertise in civil rights law.
Attorneys CANNOT give advice on criminal legal issues or provide representation on any legal matters.
Agency can help you with the process of filing a complaint with Housing & Urban Development (HUD) for free. Your action, your voice, and your willingness to make a formal complaint will help you and others who may be victimized by housing discrimination of any kind. Does not provide legal advice, but can refer to free low-income legal services to address landlord tenant disputes and do it yourself help.
NWFHA can help you with the process of filing a complaint with HUD (Department of Housing & Urban Development) at no charge. Your action, your voice, and your willingness to make a formal complaint will help you and others who may be victimized by housing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability or familial status (kids in household).
Provides legal representation in cases that may establish positive legal precedents concerning the civil liberties of LGBT individuals and people with HIV/AIDS.
Offers legal representation in cases with a likelihood of success in establishing positive legal precedents that will affect lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people (LGBT) and people with HIV or AIDS.
Pursues litigation in all areas of the law that affect LGBT individuals and people with HIV/AIDS, including:
- Marriage & Family
- Workplace equality and employment discrimination
- Immigration
- Health Care, including discrimination and breach of confidentiality
- Fair Courts
- Government and police misconduct
Provides targeted advocacy and outreach for:
- Teens & Young Adults
- Transgender individuals
- Seniors
- Those with HIV or AIDS
- Latinos
- Those experiencing discrimination rooted in intersecting identities such as race or class
Offers resources, publications and information about related issues when unable to provide representation and to support self-advocacy.
Provides fair housing education to housing consumers and providers, as well as investigation and enforcement of fair housing laws to address discriminatory practice in rental, sales, financing, and insurance.
Provides fair housing education to housing consumers and providers, as well as investigation and enforcement of fair housing laws to address discriminatory practice in rental, sales, financing and insurance.
Assists individuals requesting reasonable accommodations or reasonable modifications from their housing providers (rentals, home sale process, HOA/COA communities, etc.).
Provides consultation and training on application of the federal Fair Housing Act and state/local fair housing laws.
Does not provide landlord tenant counseling or housing assistance.
Offers free legal assistance for low-income tenants with an eviction hearing at the courthouse. Services are provided on a drop-in basis.
- Offers free legal assistance to low-income tenants involved in residential eviction court proceedings. Legal assistants interview tenants and attorneys review all relevant documents.
- Attorneys will represent in court and to resolve filed eviction lawsuit; attorneys will also negotiate with the landlord and represent the tenant.
- Attorneys are unable to assist with evictions from emergency shelters or residential care facilities (such as nursing homes). Attorneys may assist those being evicted from permanent, transitional, and manufactured (mobile home) housing.
- Drop-in child care provided by the Children's Home Society at the Regional Justice Center for parents while they appear in court.
Provides a hotline focusing on Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and LGBTQ+ individuals who have experienced harmful, physical, and inappropriate contact with police and vigilantes.
Operates a hotline focusing on Black, Black LGBTQI, Brown, Native, and Muslim community who have experienced harmful, physical, and inappropriate contact with police and vigilantes.
Provides an anonymous and confidential avenue to report interactions and referrals to resources. Volunteers are trained to listen and affirm the experiences of anyone who may have experienced a negative interaction with law enforcement, consumer service (restaurants and stores), or vigilante contact. Volunteer opportunities are available.
Provides bilingual legal information and advice for a broad range of legal issues.
Provides legal information and advice for the following issues depending on attorney availability:
- Auto accidents
- Birth injuries
- Consumer law
- Criminal defense
- Family law
- Finance
- Immigration
- Landlord-tenant law
- Medical negligence
- Personal injury
- Property law
- Worker's rights/wage claims
Supports civil rights legislation and opposes racial discrimination.
Supports civil rights legislation and opposes racial discrimination. Ensures that all students have access to an equal and high-quality education by eliminating racial and ethnic disparities. Also works to combat discrimination in the areas of housing, employment and health care. Empowers African Americans and people of color by increasing awareness and participation in the electoral process.
Offers free mediation services provided by 2nd and 3rd year law students working at the mediation clinic.
Provides MEDIATION services only. Does NOT mediate dissolutions (divorce) or child custody matters. Does NOT offer any legal advice.
Parties voluntarily negotiate the settlement of their disputes with an impartial third party. The parties decide the outcome of the mediation, rather than a judge or arbitrator.
The mediator serves to guide the process, mediators are second- and third-year law students under the supervision of law faculty.
Typical mediation cases include:
- Buyer/Seller
- Real Estate Issues
- Consumer/Business
- Co-workers
- Employer/Employee
- Housemates/Roommates
- Landlord/Tenant
- Neighbors
- Student/Staff
- General Civil Litigation
Supports civil rights legislation and opposes racial discrimination. Investigates civil rights complaints and may refer to the proper agency/authority/attorney to handle the complaint.
Supports civil rights legislation and opposes racial discrimination.
Investigates civil rights complaints and may refer to the proper agency/authority/attorney to handle the complaint.
Participates in arbitration, mediation and other dispute resolution involving civil rights issues.
Is not law firm, does not have a staff of attorneys and does not give legal advice.
Offers free legal assistance to tenants involved in landlord disputes such as threats to evict. Attorneys will offer legal advice and referrals.
Offers free legal assistance to tenants involved in eviction disputes.
Attorneys will offer legal advice and referrals; attorneys may also be able to negotiate with the landlord or represent the tenant.
Hosts a free monthly legal clinic with a focus on LGBTQ issues; provides information in a variety of areas including family law, debt and bankruptcy, divorce/dissolution, employment discrimination, and transgender legal issues.
Hosts a legal clinic specifically designed to address the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals and couples. This clinic is run by QLaw Foundation in partnership with the King County Bar Association.
The clinic is open to everyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
At the clinic, an attorney will meet with clients for 30 minutes and provide individualized legal advice and information.
Clinic attorneys will answer questions and provide information in a variety of areas including family law, immigration, debt and bankruptcy, divorce/dissolution, employment discrimination, and transgender legal issues.
Provides disability rights information and strategies for how to become a stronger self-advocate; has limited legal services for disability and civil rights violations. Focuses legal resources on systemic cases.
Provides disability rights information, technical assistance for disability issues, general information about legal rights, strategies about how to become a stronger self-advocate, information sheets on a wide range of subjects to empower individuals with disabilities to better advocate for themselves, community education and training, and some legal services for disability rights violations.
Focuses legal resources on systemic cases that will improve service systems for people with disabilities.
Disability Rights Washington has attorneys and law student interns who provide Technical Assistance on specific information related to our ongoing systemic work and to people calling from treatment facilities. If you are calling about an education issue related to disability in school, Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) or foster care related issues, supported living and waiver services, or your rights as they relate to a treatment facility, we have appointments and can schedule you with staff. If you are a Social Security disability beneficiary under full retirement age experiencing a barrier to employment, including issues with paratransit, difficulty accessing job training and employment services, loss of ongoing employment supports, lack of access to assistive technology needed to work, or other issues that prevent you from getting or keeping employment, you can call and schedule an appointment with staff.
Does not provide representation or advice for:
- Criminal law
- Family law
- Assistance becoming the guardian of an individual with a disability
- Out-of-state issues
- Workers compensation
- General medical malpractice & personal injury
- General consumer bankruptcy issues
- Any issue or problem not directly related to your disability
- Assistance finding employment, housing or financial assistance
- Assistance filling out forms & Social Security applications
- Anything that is not the wish of the person with the disability
Offers legal advice for any tenant concerns and landlord/tenant mediation. Also assists tenants in the early stages of an eviction.
Offers legal advice for any tenant concerns and landlord/tenant mediation. Also assists tenants in the early stages of an eviction (before an eviction summons is received-i.e., a 14-day pay-or-vacate notice).
Supports civil rights legislation and opposes racial discrimination.
Supports civil rights legislation and opposes racial discrimination. Ensures that all students have access to an equal and high-quality education by eliminating racial and ethnic disparities. Also works to combat discrimination in the areas of housing, employment and health care. Empowers African Americans and people of color by increasing awareness and participation in the electoral process.
Counsels, mediates and advocates on behalf of Muslims who have experienced religious discrimination, defamation or hate crimes. Includes workplace, immigration or school discrimination. Provides referrals to attorneys if necessary.
Counsels, mediates and advocates on behalf of Muslims who have experienced religious discrimination, defamation or hate crimes. Also provides referrals, if necessary, to attorneys who can assist with workplace, immigration or school discrimination as well as other forms of discrimination.
Attorneys work with interpreters to give consultation and legal advice on family law, immigration law, landlord-tenant disputes, employment law and other areas. Call for an appointment. Focuses on serving limited English-speaking Koreans.
Operates legal clinics providing free 30 minute consultations with an attorney.
Focus is on Korean and Korean-speaking clients.
Clinic attorneys can:
- Determine whether the client has a legal problem
- Suggest possible options
- Help answer papers, summons and requests
- Provide appropriate referrals
Neighborhood legal clinic attorneys may not have expertise in all areas of the law, but they will make every attempt to answer questions accurately.
Attorneys CANNOT give advice on criminal legal issues or provide representation on any legal matters.
Supports civil rights legislation and opposes racial discrimination.
Supports civil rights legislation and opposes racial discrimination. Ensures that all students have access to an equal and high-quality education by eliminating racial and ethnic disparities. Also works to combat discrimination in the areas of housing, employment and health care. Empowers African Americans and people of color by increasing awareness and participation in the electoral process.
Provides legal services in eviction cases, subsidy terminations and reasonable accommodation requests for King County residents.
Seattle residents must be AT or BELOW 80% AMI. King County residents outside Seattle must be AT or BELOW 200% FPL.
Provides civil legal aid services to low-income tenants with pending eviction, subsidy terminations and requests for reasonable accommodation in King County.
Tenant Law Center attorneys can assist with evictions from permanent and subsidized housing. A notice is not required
Tenant Law Center can assist with:
- Pending evictions for residents who have not yet received a Summons and Complaint.
- Preventing Section 8 subsidy terminations for King County residents (cannot do reinstatements); must have written notice of pending subsidy termination.
- Helps tenants in King County get reasonable accommodations after the initial request was denied.
Handles complaints of discrimination, and advocates for those experiencing hate speech or being harassed. Assists people in navigating bureaucratic systems that have discriminatory policies and procedures.
Handles complaints of discrimination and advocates for those experiencing hate speech or being harassed.
Assists people in navigating bureaucratic systems that have discriminatory policies and procedures. May be able to assist in mediation with these systems.
If there are no resources to confront discrimination within an agency or company that a complaint is being directed toward, this agency will refer a client to the appropriate government agency.
DOES NOT PROVIDE LEGAL COUNSEL OR LEGAL REPRESENTATION.
Investigates and resolves complaints of housing discrimination in unincorporated King County.
Investigates alleged violations of the ordinance concerned with apartments rented or leased by owners, managers or agents, or houses sold or rented by real estate brokers, agents or by individuals. It is against the law to discriminate because of a person's age, race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, disability, use of a service animal or if a person participates in the Section 8 housing program. Clients are encouraged to seek remedies through Washington State Human Rights Commission if possible.
Provides free 45-minute appointments for advice on civil legal issues. Attorneys at the clinic do not typically provide representation. Serves low-income residents of East, Northeast and Southeast King County (does not serve Seattle residents.)
Provides free 45-minute to 1-hour appointments with an attorney for advice on civil legal issues such as: consumer, finance/debt, employment, housing, benefits. Appointments are required. Clinics are currently telephonic.
Attorneys at the clinic are not able to provide representation.
Investigates complaints that a HIPPA-covered entity or its business associate violated health information privacy rights. Investigates complaints of discrimination in programs to which HHS provides financial assistance as well as religious freedom or conscience discrimination.
Ensures equal access to certain health and human services, protects the privacy and security of health information and investigates discrimination on the bases of conscience or religious freedom.
Civil Rights Complaint
Investigates complaints of discrimination based on race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex (including sex stereotyping and gender identity), or religion in programs or activities that HHS directly operates or to which HHS provides federal financial assistance. Also investigates complaints of discrimination based on disability by a state or local government health care or social services agency.
HIPAA Complaint
Investigates complaints that a Health Insurance Portability/Accountability Act-covered entity or its business associate violated health information privacy rights. OCR can investigate complaints against covered entities (health plans, health care clearinghouses, or health care providers that conduct certain transactions electronically) and their business associates.
Conscience and Religious Freedom Complaint
Investigates complaints that a covered entity discriminated on the basis of conscience or religious freedom, coerced someone to violate your conscience or religious beliefs, or burdened someone's free exercise of religion