Why aren’t incidents covered under our union contract?

RCW 41.56.510(c) limits our union's scope for collective bargaining and it does not include disciplinary processes. In other words, our union is not allowed by law to negotiate over discipline. 

How it affects interpreters?

Based on the severity of the incidents reported, a state agency may terminate the interpreter from their contracts permanently. Furthermore, the state agency may choose to pursue the revocation of the interpreter's credential by filing a request with the appropriate credentialing body.

Who created the Incident Resolution Process?

In April 2014, the Health Care Authority (HCA) created the first Incident Resolution Process (IRP) in order to manage complaints from providers regarding interpreters' adherence to WAC 388-03-050. A provision for this process is included in the contract HCA signed with its scheduling vendors, first CTS and then Universal Language Services.

In November 2024, the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) created its own IRP similar to the HCA one. A provision for this process is included in the contract L&I signed with its scheduling vendor SOSi. 

In December 2024, the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) saw the need to have its own IRP since it is moving forward with procuring spoken language interpreting services from new coordinating entity(ies).

What is the response of Interpreters United to the Incident Resolution Process?

Interpreters United and AFSCME Council 28 (WFSE) have always objected to the State’s scheduling vendors being the judge, jury, and executioner of freelance interpreters. It is our union's position that the State’s scheduling vendor should limit itself to documenting complaints against interpreters and that all disciplinary sanctions should be in the hands of the interpreters’ credentialing body (e.g. DSHS/LTC). Under much protest, however, our union agreed to provide feedback on this Incident Resolution Process in order to ensure that interpreters’ voices are heard, and hopefully prevent harsher policies that could have occurred.

What advocacy has Interpreters United made towards the Incident Resolution Process?

The State is not obligated to work with the union on this disciplinary policy, which is outside of our collective bargaining scope. However, due to the activism and advocacy efforts of our members, the State has implemented many of our recommendations to ensure a fairer process, including the following:

• Allowing interpreters to return appointments up to 24 hours in advance with no penalty;
• 30-minute grace period to return appointments without triggering an incident report;
• Allowing permissible reasons for returning an appointment or tardiness without resulting in an incident report such as a reasonable sick policy (e.g., being allowed to return all appointments in a day up to four times a month without incurring an incident);
• Low and medium incidents expire for computational purposes after a certain number of months; and
• A forthcoming appeals process for those interpreters whose contract with the State’s vendor has been terminated.

Only interpreters who are union members can participate in these conversations. This is yet another reason for interpreters to join our union.

What should an interpreter do if they have an incident?

Interpreters should review the “HELP! I got an incident!” document in the Members Only tab for step-by-step suggestions on what to do when receiving an incident report. You can also purchase Professional Liability insurance a.k.a. Errors & Omissions insurance (E&O) and/or seek legal advice (see AFSCME Members Only benefits).

Find the latest version (July 2025) of the HCA IRP HERE.

Find the latest version (November 2024) of the L&I IRP HERE.

Find the latest version (December 2024) of the DSHS IRP HERE.