Mandery v. Costco Wholesale Corp.

*852¶1 An employee cannot waive by contract the benefits of Washington’s Industrial Insurance Act, Title 51 RCW, by barring himself or herself from the right to claim its benefits. Because the employment agreement in this case purports to bar the employee from pursuing workplace injury damages from a third party, and the Industrial Insurance Act specifically assigns to employees the right to pursue such third party claims and the right to retain a portion of any award, the contract provision purporting to release the third party from workplace injury liability is void. We therefore reverse and…