hanson v. Washington state office of the attorney general

On 12/03/2024, Silent Majority Foundation filed a lawsuit on behalf of ten former employees of the Washington State Office of the Attorney General, challenging the AGO's adoption and implementation of AGO Policy I.58, Vaccination, which required AGO employees and volunteers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. While the Attorney General is to uphold the liberty and justice all citizens, Bob Ferguson discriminately applied the mandate to each of our clients, in violation of their Constitutional and statutory rights.  Our causes of action are as follows:

• Deprivation of Religious Freedom, Violation of U.S. Constitution, Amendment 1, Amend. XIV; 42 U.S.C. § 1983
• Violations of U.S. Const. Amend. V., Amend. XIV, Wash. Const. Art. I, § 3, Deprivation 3 of Life, Liberty, or Property, Without Due Process; 42 U.S.C. § 1983 
• Failure to Accommodate – Washington Law Against Discrimination
• Disparate Treatment – Washington Law Against Discrimination
• Disparate Impact – Washington Law Against Discrimination
• Violation of Right to be Free from Arbitrary and Capricious Action
• Wrongful Termination Against Public Policy -- Religious Discrimination
• Wrongful Termination – Retaliation in Violation of Wash. Rev. Code § 49.60.210
• The Vaccine Mandate and Policy I.58 were ultra vires acts as they were conducted outside the scope of the Attorney General or delegees’ authority

While the AGO Policy I.58, "Vaccination," provided the option to request accommodations or modifications for employees with disabilities, health conditions, or religious beliefs preventing them from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, none of our clients received accommodations from the Policy.  Further, these employees were denied access to an interactive process to achieve accommodations, but instead were wrongfully terminated, forced to resign or to immediately retire.

In mandating that employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition to maintain employment, the Attorney General, Defendant Ferguson, exceeded or acted entirely outside of his statutory authority.

Silent Majority Foundation is proud to stand with these bold Washingtonians against government overreach at the hands of the Office of Attorney General. 



02/19/2025 Update: We have received the Defendants Motion to Dismiss and are formulating our response.