Under Washington State laws, what is the tort of negligent retention? Here’s my point of view.
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NEGLIGENT RETENTION IN WASHINGTON STATE
To successfully litigate an employment-based negligence claim, the plaintiff must establish the basic elements of negligence: duty; breach of duty; causation; and damages. The theory of negligent retention is a tort. A tort is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, entitling the victim to remedies typically in the form of damages. According to the Washington State Supreme Court:
Negligent retention consists of … retaining the employee with knowledge of his unfitness, or of failing to use reasonable care to discover it before … retaining him.
Anderson v. Soap Lake Sch. Dist., 423 P.3d 197, 206 (Wash. 2018) (citing Peck v. Siau, 65 Wash. App. 285, 288, 827 P.2d 1108 (1992)) (alterations in original) (internal citation and quotation marks omitted).
NEGLIGENT RETENTION VS. NEGLIGENT HIRING
Negligent hiring is also a Washington State tort. According to the Anderson Court:
The difference between negligent hiring and negligent retention is timing. Negligent hiring occurs at the time of hiring, while negligent retention occurs during the course of employment.
Id. (internal citation omitted) (emphasis added).
CONCLUSION
Negligent retention occurs when an employer either retains an employee with knowledge of the employee’s unfitness, or fails to use reasonable care to discover unfitness before retaining the employee.
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